As India turns into the hottest market for international carmakers, the ones who missed the first coming are now rushing in..

They say when it rains, it pours. And it really does. Just look at our car industry. For the last half-a-decade, we’ve had no new car manufacturers entering our market. Now suddenly, a whole bunch of them are rushing in, straining at the leash to get going. Remember, we are looking at companies that manufacture and assemble cars, not just import them. Fiat, Ford and Mercedes-Benz came in 1995, General Motors drove down in 1996 with Opel and now sells Chevrolets, Honda and Mitsubishi in ‘97, Hyundai in ‘98 and Toyota a year later. Skoda, after much deliberation, came in 2001. After that, not a single one in the past five years. There were, of course, Daewoo and Peugeot who came here in the mid-‘90s but they fell by the wayside.

Now suddenly, there are five carmakers from every corner of the globe keen to make their presence felt in India, lured by our million-plus car sales per annum, huge middle class — the largest in the world — and our growing economy. To compete with the existing flock, these new entrants will have to be very competitive; so expect the latest models at great prices and superb service as well.

BMW
If you’ve been waiting a long time to buy an Indian-assembled BMW, respite is around the corner. You will soon be able to choose from a long list of 3 and 5 Series cars, which will go head to head with German rival Mercedes’ product line-up.

Renault
Renault’s first model for India,won’t be the most effervescent car. The Logan (pictured) is developed for markets that want low-cost entry-level saloons. It is admittedly a simple car with only basic technology, but the diesel version is a great fit for India and Mahindra is quietly confident about its success here.

Nissan
Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Nissan Motors and the man who turned around the company’s fortunes, has clearly stated that Nissan will manufacture cars in India by 2008 and certainly before the turn of the decade. The current plan that will kickstart Nissan’s presence in India, in typical Ghosn-style, is an extremely bold one. Extending the Nissan-Suzuki global alliance to Indian shores, Nissan’s new small car for India will be assembled and manufactured at Maruti’s plant.

Volkswagen
The German carmaker has been rocked by scandal, delays and almost monthly rumours of setting up shop in different corners of India. Now we hear Volkswagen is getting closer to announcing firm plans for the Indian market, including setting up full-fledged production facilities.

Mazda
Mazda cleared the deck for its arrival in India by selling its stake in Swaraj Mazda. Part of Ford, Mazda is preparing to launch a stealth attack and is developing a small car for India based on its new small car platform known as the B2E. Jointly developed with Ford, the car will replace the Mazda 2 in some markets and will benefit from Ford’s India experience.