Indian exports of two-wheelers, trucks, and buses to Bangladesh are likely to be severely hit this month with the South Asian nation grappling with a deadly civil unrest.
Bajaj Auto, India’s largest exporter of two- and three-wheelers, ships around 3.6% of its monthly exports to Bangladesh. At Hero MotoCorp, Bangladesh contributes 20-30% of its sales outside India.
Two-wheeler makers from India also have manufacturing facilities in Bangladesh to meet local regulations and save on high customs duties. Hero MotoCorp has a joint venture manufacturing plant at Jessore in Bangladesh while TVS Motor has a joint venture company with T V Sundram Iyenger & Sons.
“Bangladesh is an important market for both two-wheelers and three-wheelers. We do almost 5,000 to 6,000 exports per month there. Hopefully, the situation will come under control soon,” said Rakesh Sharma, executive director, Bajaj Auto.
Indian two-wheeler exports to Bangladesh stood at 3.6% by value in FY24, declining from 3.69% in FY23 and 3.72% in the year before, as per data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Bajaj Auto leads Bangladesh’s market of 450,000-500,000 two-wheelers per year with a 20-23% market share. Hero MotoCorp, with a 15-16% market share and an annual volume of 60,000 units, is the second largest by volume. Both Hero and Bajaj have been present in the country for more than a decade.
Bangladesh is also an important export destination for bus and truck makers such as Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland and Eicher Motors. “In the pre-Covid year of 2018-19, CV exports from India were 34,000 to 35,000 units. Since then, it hasn’t recovered. It had bottomed out to 6,000 units in 2023-24 and was on the brink of recovery,” said Vinod Aggarwal, MD at Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles.
Industry executives said factories in Bangladesh have been closed for the past three days amid the deteriorating scenario in the neighbouring country.
Rahul Bharti, executive director, corporate affairs at Maruti Suzuki India said the company’s “exports are diversified across 100-odd countries and the bulk is to far-off destinations like Latin America etc. So, the Bangladesh crisis does not affect us.”
To be sure, the overall share of Bangladesh in India’s auto exports pie has been shrinking after the pandemic. India exported automobiles worth USD 175 million (INR 1,500 crore) to Bangladesh in 2023-24, down from USD 223.68 last year and USD 333.95 in the previous year.
