Mercedes-benz will export its best-selling GLC model to the United States from its factory in India, Automotive News reported. Rob Moran, a spokesman for Mercedes-Benz USA, confirmed that the vehicle will arrive in the United States next month and that Mercedes has notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of its import plans.

Last year, Ford began importing the Ford Wing from Chennai, India. General Motors, another giant American carmaker, has been stymied in setting up production in India, but has moved planned production there to other overseas bases and has yet to say whether it will export to the United States.

The idea of importing vehicles from India has been around for a decade. At the time, Mahindra, the Indian carmaker, had signed a deal to export a small crude diesel pick-up truck to the US through independent dealers. But dealers say Mahindra needs to make several quality improvements to its models before they can be sold. In the end, the deal was scrapped before it was cleared by US regulators.

Now, however, things are completely different. The GLC is the best-selling luxury compact crossover in the United States, and the cars sold in the United States are currently made at the Bremen plant in Germany. Mercedes has no plans to build the model at its Vance, Ala.

India could become a new export base

Analysts see India playing an increasingly important role, foreign media said. Mercedes uses India as a source of vehicles for its US imports, reinforcing the country's role as an export hub for cars. The sudden appearance of Indian-made vehicles comes at a time of escalating trade friction between the United States and China, as well as a struggling domestic market and overcapacity in Indian factories.

Brian Johnson, a managing director at Barclays Capital, said Mercedes' move could draw attention to the potential of India's auto manufacturing sector. "This move will help India build the supply chain and production infrastructure to meet North American and European quality standards." However, the export of vehicles from India to the United States is only a test case, not a practice. "Global carmakers have long seen India as a difficult place to build supply chains and this could be seen as an attempt to establish India as an export hub."

India's auto market also has plenty of room to grow as middle-class wages rise and consumers shift from two-wheelers to sedans and crossovers. Richard Hilgert, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, said, "There is probably a lot of room for growth in light vehicle capacity in India, and as that capacity increases, so does the opportunity to export." For carmakers, exports will become a fundamental part of Indian factories.

Exports are a key pillar of Indian factories

Until now, some carmakers have found it difficult to support their factories with only domestic sales, so it has made sense to consider exports. Ford's Indian plant is a classic example, where exports rather than domestic sales dominate production.

Anurag Mehrotra, President and Managing Director, Ford Plant India, said, "Exports have become one of the key pillars, giving us economies of scale so that we can bring more features to the Indian market at a more competitive cost."

The story of India's luxury car market is clearer. Sam Fiorani, vice president of AutoForecast Solutions, believes that exporting a few thousand Mercedes-Benz GLCS will not only increase profits at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Pune, but also satisfy demand for vehicles in the U.S. market. Although it is more expensive to ship vehicles from Pune to the United States than from Bremen, other costs, such as low labor costs, keep the overall cost down.

Foreign media pointed out that the move may help carmakers avoid global problems. At present, the US tariff for the global uncertainty. The move comes after the Trump administration threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on imported vehicles from the European Union, which would determine where companies would source their products.