Maruti Suzuki, which on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Gujarat government for setting up a new plant with a production capacity of 1 million units annually, wants litigation-free land at an appropriate price.
Chairman, RC Bhargava told Fe that the Gujarat government has been very supportive and has said that they would surely deliver on this front. “We would prefer that the decision on the land is taken quickly because our target is to start production by 2028-29, and Gujarat suits us because we have a vendor base there, and exports and transportation cost from there also works out better,” Bhargava said.
The company plans to invest Rs 38,200 crore in Gujarat for setting up capacities that will churn out 1.25 million vehicles annually after taking into account the addition of the fourth line to its existing plant in the state.
These new facilities will help Maruti produce a total of 2 million units per year from the western state. The announcement was made on Wednesday, the first day of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit by President of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Toshihiro Suzuki.
The green field plant with a capacity to produce 1 million units per annum costing Rs 35,000 crore (excluding land acquisition cost), will start operations in FY29. The details of location and the models to be produced will be shared in due course.
To expand production of battery electric vehicles (BEV) in future, Suzuki Group will invest Rs 3,200 crore in Suzuki Motor Gujarat to add a new fourth production line which can produce 250,000 units per year. The fourth line is expected to start operation from FY27. This will increase SMG’s annual production capacity to 1 million units per year.
“In this ever-growing country, we will provide a variety of sustainable mobility options by focusing on Indian customers,” Suzuki said in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the three-day summit held at the state capital Gandhinagar.
Maruti Suzuki plans to secure a production capacity of about 4 million units per annum in India by FY31 to prepare for future expansion of the automobile market in India.
The new plant in Kharkhoda, Haryana which is planned to start operation in 2025, the new plant in Gujarat and the fourth production line of SMG will help achieve the milestone of 4 million. The market leader currently has an installed capacity of 1.5 million per annum in Haryana across Manesar and Gurugram.
The BEV from Maruti Suzuki will be rolled out from the SMG plant in Gujarat by the end of this year. The company plans to sell this model not only in India but also export to Japan and European countries. A total of five BEVs are in the company’s pipeline which will be launched by the end of the decade.
“It is noteworthy that as compared to 10 years ago, we expect 1.7 times in vehicle production and 2.6 times in export sales in the current fiscal year, ” Suzuki added.
Suzuki also added that in addition to vehicle electrification, the Suzuki group will offer multiple options such as compressed natural gas, biogas, bioethanol and green hydrogen.
“Taking advantage of India’s animal wealth, we will start production of biogas from cow dung. Together with the National Dairy Development Board, and Banas Dairy, Suzuki has already started construction of four biogas plants in Gujarat,” Suzuki said.
