Shortage of ships hits India's auto exports in August

India's automobile exports ran into rough seas in August as a vessel shortage, triggered by the ongoing West Asia conflict, disrupted shipments.

Exports of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Hyundai Motor India Ltd were hit by a temporary shortage of vessels in August.

“Demand is strong in all our markets. The supply exists. We have cars at the port. It’s the ships that are not available to carry the cars from the Indian port to the export port,” said Rahul Bharti, Senior Executive Officer, Corporate Affairs, Maruti Suzuki.

Maruti Suzuki exported 33,844 vehicles in August, marginally lower than 36,538 units in the corresponding month last year.

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“These are mostly international (shipping) liners. The problem may continue for a while. The good part is that we are diversified across 120 markets,” Bharti said, adding that Maruti Suzuki has a significant export presence in Latin America, which requires more travel time for vessels.

He, however, added that these challenges are part of regular business. “It's a VUCA world. I believe our exports will be fairly resilient,” he said. Maruti continues to ship vehicles even to markets in the Middle East despite the ongoing conflict in the region.

The automaker exported 188,636 vehicles during April-August, registering a 14.1% increase over the corresponding period last year. Bharti said the company’s export momentum remained strong despite the logistical disruption.

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Maruti Suzuki has also strengthened its position as India’s largest passenger vehicle exporter. Bharti said that between April and July, Maruti exported more vehicles than the other 17 manufacturers from India combined, giving it more than 50% of the country’s passenger vehicle export market.

The company’s Fronx SUV has also emerged as the fastest SUV from India to cross 200,000 exports, achieving the milestone in less than 38 months.

Meanwhile, Maruti’s electric SUV e Vitara, whose first unit was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August 2025, has crossed 46,000 exports in its first 12 months. The model is being shipped to around 50 countries.

Bharti said the company expects export momentum to continue despite the current shipping constraints, describing the vessel shortage as a temporary disruption rather than a fundamental change in overseas demand.

“Momentum continues strong. There are some minor concerns on ship availability, but demand and momentum continues strong,” he said.

Hyundai Motor India's exports were also affected by logistical constraints linked to the ongoing conflict in West Asia and the broader geopolitical environment.

"While total exports in August were impacted by logistical constraints arising from the ongoing conflict in West Asia and the broader geo-political environment during the month, we remain optimistic that export demand will continue to be strong in the coming months as the geo-political situation improves," said Tarun Garg, MD and CEO of Hyundai Motor India.