The progressive liberalization of the norms for foreign investment and import of technology appear to have benefited the automobile sector with production of total vehicles increasing from 4.2 million in 1998-99 to 7.3 million in 2003-04. It is likely that the production of such vehicles will exceed 10 million in the next couple of years. The global standards achieved by the industry have resulted in the increased export. After a temporary slump during 1998-99 and 1999-00, such exports registered robust growth rates of well over 50 percent in 2002-03 and 2003-04 each to exceed two and-half times the export figure for 2001-02 (Table 1.2). Growth of exports of 32.8 percent in the first three quarters of 2004-05 augurs well for the years to come.