The recent announcements - by Bayerische Motoren Werke, Suzuki, Nissan, Volkswagen, Honda and Toyota - reflect the allure of selling cars to every echelon of an increasingly affluent society.

The government recently forecast that automobile sales would leap from $34 billion this year to $145 billion in 2016, accounting for one-tenth of India's economic output. At the market's top end, BMW announced in recent days that it would assemble cars in India for the first time, catering to a widening sliver of the new rich. A $25 million plant in the southern port of Madras will manufacture 1,000 of BMW's 3-series and 5-series models starting next year, with a peak capacity of 1,700 cars a year.