Financial performnce evaluation of automobile industry: A comparative study of the selected automobile companies in India

The Indian automotive industry has emerged as a ‘sunrise sector’ in the Indian economy. India is emerging as one of the world's fastest growing passenger car markets and second largest two wheeler manufacturer. It is also home for the largest motor cycle manufacturer and fifth largest commercial vehicle manufacturer. India's passenger car and commercial vehicle manufacturing industry is the sixth largest in the world, with an annual production of more than 3.9 million units in 2011. According to recent reports, India overtook Brazil and became the sixth largest passenger vehicle producer in the world (beating such old and new auto makers as Belgium, United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Mexico, Russia, Spain, France, Brazil), grew 16 to 18 per cent to sell around three million units in the course of 2011–12. In 2009, India emerged as Asia's fourth largest exporter of passenger cars, behind Japan, South Korea, and Thailand. In 2010, India beat Thailand to become Asia's third largest exporter of passenger cars. In this juncture, the researchers in this study have made an attempt to compare the financial performance of top automobile companies operating in India. Five top automobile companies have been taken for this study. Even though there are many more automobile companies in India, the scope of the study confined to only five companies operating in India. The entire study is based on the secondary data, procured and extracted from the financial statements of the selected companies covering a period of five years from 2008 to 2012.