Why Honda sent only 473 cars abroad in October while Maruti sent 49,872

Picture two big car makers, both with factories in India, both selling to buyers far away. In October 2026, one of them sent 49,872 cars abroad. The other sent just 473. The first is Maruti Suzuki, which shared its numbers on Sunday, 1 November 2026. The second is Honda Cars India.

So why did one shoot up while the other fell off a cliff? A big part of the answer sits on the sea, thousands of kilometres from any Indian factory.

What the October numbers say

Maruti Suzuki sold 276,120 vehicles in total in October 2026, its highest ever in one month, the company said. Of these, 49,872 went abroad. A year earlier, in October 2025, Maruti had sent 31,304 cars abroad. That is a jump of 59.3%.

Honda Cars India told a very different story. The Economic Times reported that the company sold 7,609 cars inside India in October 2026 and sent only 473 abroad. In October 2025, the same numbers were 6,394 at home and 4,124 abroad. So sales in India went up, but cars sent overseas fell by 88%. Total sales fell 23% to 8,082.

Bar chart: Honda Cars India sent 4,124 cars abroad in October 2025 and 473 in October 2026 — Honda Cars India sent 4,124 cars abroad in October 2025 and only 473 in October 2026.

Think of two chai stalls on the same street. One sells more cups to faraway office workers every week. The other loses almost all of those outside orders, even though people next door still buy. The tea is fine. Something on the delivery side has changed.

Why a sea route far away matters

Cars made in India go abroad on huge ships built to carry thousands of cars. If those ships are not there, the cars wait at the port.

A war broke out in late February 2026 after a joint US and Israel operation in Iran, Mint reported. It has hit key trade routes such as the Strait of Hormuz. Routes through West Asia are a main gateway for goods going to Europe and North Africa, Mint added.

By August, the trouble was already clear. Ships that carry cars were in short supply, and Maruti said so plainly. Rahul Bharti, a senior Maruti executive, told Business Today: "We have cars at the port." The ships to carry them were not there, he said. Maruti sent 33,844 cars abroad that month, a little below 36,538 a year before.

On 1 November, Bharti said the trouble had grown. "The Middle East situation has actually slightly worsened. We were using an alternate route, even that alternate route has a bit of a problem," he said at a press conference, Mint reported. He also said buyers in those markets still want the cars.

Watch on YouTube

This video explains how cars made in India travel to ports and onto ships before they reach buyers in other countries.

So how did Maruti grow anyway?

Maruti does not depend on one or two places. It sends cars to around 120 countries, Mint reported. It has a big presence in Latin America, where ships travel longer, Business Today reported. Maruti is also selling electric cars in places like Europe and Japan.

Think of a cricket team with many good bowlers. If one gets injured, the captain still has others. A team with only one strike bowler is in trouble on a bad day.

A counter rising to 49,872 cars, the number Maruti Suzuki sent abroad in October 2026, up 59.3% on October 2025 — Maruti Suzuki sent 49,872 cars abroad in October 2026, up 59.3% on a year before.

Maruti now sends out more than half of all the cars India sells abroad. From April to September 2026, India sent out 4,51,479 cars, up just 1.3% on a year before, Autopunditz worked out. Maruti alone sent 2,30,576 of them, or 51.1%. All the other makers together sent 8.0% fewer cars. Hyundai fell 7.6%, Nissan 20.2% and Volkswagen 27.9% in that half year.

The second hit: a big new tax in Mexico

Ships are not the only problem. Mexico, one of the biggest buyers of cars made in India, raised its import duty on cars. An import duty is like an entry fee a country charges on goods coming in. Mexico raised it on cars made in countries without a free trade deal from 20% to 50%, starting 1 January 2026, Mexico Business News reported. The aim, it said, is to protect around 350,000 factory roles in Mexico.

Before and after panels: Mexico's duty on a car from India was 20% before 2026 and 50% from 1 January 2026 — Mexico's import duty on cars from India went up from 20% to 50% on 1 January 2026.

Here is a simple sum. Say a car costs Rs 10 lakh when it lands in Mexico. With a 20% fee, the importer pays Rs 2 lakh more. With a 50% fee, the importer pays Rs 5 lakh more. The car is the same, yet the price to sell there is now much higher.

Mexico was the third biggest market for cars made in India, after South Africa and Saudi Arabia, according to a Reuters report carried by Business Recorder. About $1 billion of these shipments were at risk, it said. Bharti said on 1 November that Maruti's October growth came "despite a very steep fall in Mexico", Mint reported.

The duty also hits the ships. Cars for Mexico leave from ports like Chennai, Ennore and Kamarajar on long trips, and the new tax changes the whole math of that trip, Maritime Gateway reported.

What this means for factories and buyers

Car makers in India use sales abroad to keep their factories running at full speed, the Reuters report said. Some also use them to make up for slow sales at home. A factory that makes more cars spreads its fixed costs over more cars. That is called economies of scale. It is like a samosa stall: the rent is the same whether you fry 100 samosas or 500, so each samosa costs less to make when you fry more.

The trouble also shows up in profits. Maruti's profit fell 26% to Rs 2,466 crore in the July to September quarter, and Hyundai Motor India's fell 24% to Rs 1,196 crore, hit by shipping hurdles and rising raw material prices linked to the West Asia war, Mint reported.

For buyers in India, demand at home stayed strong in October. Honda sold more cars inside India than a year before, and Maruti's sales inside India hit a record 216,789, the company said.

What comes next

Bharti said export numbers will keep moving up in some markets and down in a few. He added: "Exports are always a mixed bag, it is very difficult to predict. But certainly, yes, it should be positive if the conflict gets over," Mint reported.

The lesson for any business that sells abroad is simple. Making a good product is only half the job. Getting it to the buyer, and paying the entry fee at the border, decides the other half.

Sources

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