When you think of cars made in India, a major global manufacturing hub with a growing automotive sector. Also known as Indian automobile industry, it produces millions of vehicles each year for domestic use and export, you likely picture compact hatchbacks, rugged SUVs, or affordable sedans. But ask anyone in the U.S. or Canada about Indian car brands, automakers headquartered in India that design and build vehicles on their roads, and most will draw a blank. That’s not because India doesn’t make cars—it does. It’s because those cars rarely make it across the Pacific.
Two names come up when you dig deeper: Tata Motors, India’s largest automaker and owner of Jaguar Land Rover, and Mahindra, a major Indian conglomerate with a strong presence in SUVs and electric vehicles. Tata tried selling the Nano in the U.S. around 2008, but scrapped the plan because of safety and emissions rules that would’ve made the car too expensive. Mahindra brought over the Scorpio and Roxor—yes, the Roxor, that off-road utility vehicle that looks like a stripped-down Jeep. It sold well in rural areas and on farms, but the NHTSA shut down its U.S. sales in 2021 because it didn’t meet federal safety standards for passenger vehicles. These aren’t failures of engineering. They’re failures of market fit and regulation.
Meanwhile, U.S. steel production, the backbone of American car manufacturing, and plastic manufacturing in the USA, used in everything from dashboards to bumpers, are heavily tied to local supply chains. Indian automakers face higher logistics costs, longer lead times, and weaker dealer networks. Even if they wanted to compete with Toyota or Ford, they’d need to build factories here, hire local engineers, and adapt to U.S. safety laws—something only the biggest global players can afford. That’s why most Indian car brands focus on Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America instead.
But things are shifting. With India pushing electric vehicle manufacturing, a fast-growing sector fueled by government incentives and rising fuel prices, companies like Tata and Mahindra are now building EVs with global standards in mind. Their new models are lighter, smarter, and more efficient—exactly what North American buyers want. And with reshoring trends picking up, and manufacturing in Mexico, a cheaper alternative to China with closer ties to the U.S. becoming a hotspot, Indian automakers might not need to build in the U.S. to sell here. They could build in Mexico, use North American steel and plastic, and still call their cars Indian-made.
So no, you won’t see an Indian car brand on every corner in Chicago or Toronto. But that doesn’t mean they’re gone. They’re just waiting—for the right policy shift, the right partnership, the right electric model. The next time you see a rugged SUV with a unique grille driving down the highway, check the badge. It might just be from Surat, not Stuttgart.
Only two Indian car brands ever sold vehicles in the U.S.-Tata and Mahindra. Neither sells new cars here today. Here’s what actually made it to American roads, and why the rest never will.
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