In California, it can be difficult to be a car enthusiast. You've got smog checks(A test for emissions produced by an automobile, required for vehicle registration), and CARB compliance regulations on what modifications you're allowed to execute. It can be rather demoralizing seeing what's allowed in other states, but not mine. But what if you lived in a place where you couldn't make any modifications to your car at all? Not even paint. Well, that's exactly the kind of law that passed in India 2 years ago. Can car enthusiasts enjoy cars if they can't modify them?

So before we get into India's controversial law banning car modification. Let's set the scene for the Indian automotive world. The whole car scene modification means getting those big cars and sports cars and stuff. It's been a privileged thing. So it has always been limited to people who can afford it and do it. But for a majority of people, there are financial restrictions. Car ownership in India is often a need but also bears a high charge. You need a car to get you to work and back but you are only looking to spend what is required. That sounds like a lot of places, America included but what hits the Indian market the hardest is their essential duty tax.

What is Import duty in India?

To sell a car that was not made in India, the manufacturer must pay up to a 100%  import duty. Now Import duty is a tax gathered on imports and some exports by a country's customs authorities. A good's price will usually dictate the import duty. Depending on the context, import duty may also be known as a tariff, import tax, customs duty, or import tariff.  So immediately the cost of any car not made in India doubles. Because of this, plenty of manufacturers don't even bother shipping their sports cars to India.

India never got the MR2, the S2000, the Sylvia, the Evo, the WRX, the Camaro, the Corvette, or the charger just to name a few. But despite the tax, some global market cars do make it to India. BMW M2s, Porsche's GTRs. Even the 5.0 Mustang is obtainable at a significant premium. These are called CBU cars or complete-built units.

What are CBU or Complete Built Units?

Basically, CBU cars mean the car is completely built outside of India, but there is a different kinds of vehicles. The CKD or complete knockdown unit. Apart from being an awesome name for a hardcore band, the complete knockdown unit is a car that is assembled in India. Even though the components were made elsewhere. CKDs are subject to a lower tax as low as 15%. So if manufacturers have to build an assembly plant in India they can still save money with these market-specific cars to make a CKD car. in India, there are assembly plants for cars like the Jaguar XJ, Renault fluence, and land Rover evoke.

For many automakers, the procedure of getting even one model into the Indian market as a CKD or CBU is a difficulty in itself. And with sporty cars having such consolidated margins already, it took quite a while for some of the faster cars to create in the Indian market. For example, in the 2000s India didn't get the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo but didn't get the Mitsubishi Lancer Sedia, which was a little de-tuned version of a standard Lancer. At first, these Indian market offerings were not at all amazing, but as time went on more and more fun cars started to pop up, especially in the hot hatch segment. 

The Fiat Punto Abarth is one of the hottest cars in the Indian car scene with its 2-ton paint. The scorpion cloud version of the Punto does 0 to 60 in 8.8 secs and is built in Ranjangaon in Maharashtra, India. The Volkswagen polo is another go-to hatch in India and the Skoda Octavia RS 245 is a riotous four-door that's keeping up with the golf GTI and looks awesome. Devoted sports cars, it is tough to find or expensive to import. This sounds like a super ripe atmosphere that would get people modifying their cheaper cars. So in India, there are people who are looking for a regular car to get it modified through a proper modification company. So, they get a regular car maybe say a Volkswagen Polo which is pretty popular in India because it is already handled, much better than most cars, most hatchbacks in India.

Which region of India uses which automotive / India's car Manufacturing development

In a very comparable fashion to the United States, various regions of India develop different automotive selections over the past few decades. 

• The Northern region with close access to the Himalayas got super into four-by-fours and off-roading out of necessity. Cars like the Toyota Fortuner and SUV built on the highlights podium are extremely widespread for being daily drivers with a bit of four-by-four wheeling ability. 

• In contrast to that Southern India, often has better roads. The scene curved towards tuning and street racing. Modified Honda city type 2’s, and Skoda Octavias rip around on these super smooth streets. 

• Then in major metropolia like Mumbai and Delhi where most of India's rich people live, you have the supercar scene and plenty of people with cash to spend on importing a car. Porsche, Ferrari, and Mercedes can be seen cruising around. 

But not just what we in the US think of us Supercars. Importing a car in any country is a lengthy and expensive process. And that's no different in India but apart from the high cost associated with it, import laws are actually pretty chill compared to the US.

In America, we have a 25-year import rule that States, that no vehicle from outside the US domestic market can be imported until the car is 25 years old. This has put a ticking clock on many beloved JDM in Europe cars. But surprisingly India doesn't have such a rule. As long as the vehicle meets emission standards and is right-hand drive, nothing else stops you from importing R34s, Holdens, and JZ X100s. Mostly there are not many importers in India. In India, there is a traditional way of getting vehicles. Wherein you have the manufacturer set up in the shop here you can contact them and they'll facilitate the whole thing. But don't go thinking that India is full of rare imports.

Indian car manufactures

Car nerds are still a very small portion of the 1.3 billion people that live and work in India. We who love cars aren't the majority of consumers in any market. Thus, the most popular cars in India are local offerings. The Indian branch of the Suzuki motor company is Maruti Suzuki. And by 1996, they had a 60% share of the Indian car market. Today cars like the Maruti Swift, Maruti Alto, and Maruti Baleno are the top-selling cars in India. And India's manufacturing is not just an echo chamber of India-only cars. 

In 2008, Indian manufacturer Tata Motors bought Jaguar and land Rover from Ford. And by 2011 India had become the sixth-largest car manufacturer in the world. India's high import duties and large market meant it made sense to build up manufacturing in India. And once a manufacturing plant is established it can be used. Today India makes over $1 billion in revenue from US domestic market in parts and vehicles. Ford's Eco sport is a crossover made in India design based on what the Indian market dictated and is now being sold here in the US. The auto industry in India has been developing more powerfully and stronger. While most performance cars are still expensive. Economy boxes with go-cart handling and four-by-fours with some off-road chops are manageable to find. And if you want a cool car but can't buy one, you can make it yourself.

Road safety and the protection of the environment Law

In January 2019, the Supreme court of India enacted a law ruling that any modification that takes a car out of OEM spec aka stock is regarded as illegal. So not just modifying engine swaps and turbos even wider tires, coil-overs, and plastic dip are banned. A police car can stop you from anything. Even if it's a race trip that you have on your bonnet. It's not permitted because of modifications of any sort, basic customization, or anything it is not allowed.

The Supreme court decided that this law was made in the name of "Road Safety and the Protection of the Environment". With more people buying cars every year in India, Mods could have a huge effect on your quality of life. Suppose 500 million people installed straight exhaust in their motorcars. This no-mods law is pretty harsh on paper, and the actual penalty is enough to get your car's registration taken away. But every major hub of car culture has had an epoch of outrunning the law. 

Car culture has never been slowed by laws. And while not favoring any rule-breaking, it's safe to say that the Indian car scene will succeed even with this delinquency. The more we learn about the automotive world oceans away, the more we get to appreciate how much cars give us so much curiosity. 

Mustang has always had great influence, across the world so as in India. So mustang has been that one car that everybody desires to drive and own. Driving a mustang in a city like Mumbai would get the most amount of attraction or eyeballs than any vehicle has ever received that sort of appreciation or that sort of love. We oftentimes all get snagged up in our own little bubbles of the car rules. So it is okay to reach out and get to chat with people who love the same things we do.