Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) has surpassed 2 million cumulative vehicle dispatches using railways. This feat makes Maruti Suzuki, India’s first automobile company to attain this eco-milestone.
The company has rapidly scaled up its vehicle dispatches through railways from 65,700 units in FY15 to 4,47,750 units in FY24. Railways offer a congestion-free, safer, and energy-efficient alternative to road transportation of vehicles. Today, the company dispatches vehicles to 20 destinations, serving over 450 cities using Indian railways.
Speaking on the milestone, Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Limited said, “Maruti Suzuki pioneered the use of railways for vehicle dispatches over a decade ago by becoming the first company in India to obtain the Automobile-Freight-Train-Operator license. Since then, the company has systematically increased its share of vehicle dispatches using railways.”
He added, “Through our sustained efforts in green logistics, we have achieved outstanding results including cumulative reduction of ~10,000 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions and ~270 million Litre of cumulative fuel savings. With our production capacity nearly doubling from about 2 million units to 4 million units by FY 2030-31, we plan to augment the use of railways in vehicle dispatches, close to 35% over the next 7-8 years. We stand committed to the Government of India’s Net zero emissions target by 2070.”
Earlier this year, under the PM Gati Shakti programme, Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s first automobile in-plant railway siding at Maruti Suzuki’s Gujarat facility. This facility has a capacity to dispatch ~3,00,000 vehicles per annum.
The next in-plant railway siding is in progress at the Manesar facility and will be operational soon. The use of Indian railways for vehicle dispatches supports the objectives of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal #13 focused on climate action.
