Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) on Monday said it dispatched over 585,000 cars through railways last year, which is 18% higher than the previous year. The company’s share in rail-based vehicle dispatches reached 26% in 2025, up from just 5.1% in 2016. The increase in the share of rail mode in outbound logistics has led to significant reduction in carbon emissions, country’s oil imports and eased road congestion, the company said.
The passenger carmaker also said that its mid-term goal is to increase rail-based vehicle dispatches to 35% by FY31, contributing to India’s net-zero ambition by 2070.
What did Hisashi Takeuchi say?
“Last year marks our highest-ever rail dispatches. During the year, we strengthened our green logistic efforts through two landmark events – the inauguration of India’s largest automobile in-plant railway siding at the Manesar facility, the dispatch of vehicles by rail to Kashmir valley through the world’s highest railway arch bridge over Chenab river, a first by any automobile manufacturer,” said Hisashi Takeuchi, MD & CEO of MSIL.
MSIL has been at the forefront of promoting railways as a sustainable and efficient mode of vehicle transportation. It was the first automobile company to obtain an AFTO (Automobile-Freight-Train-Operator) license in 2013.
Since FY15, MSIL has transported over 2.8 million vehicles from 22 destinations servicing over 600 cities across India through a hub-and-spoke model. To transport vehicles, MSIL uses over 45 flexi deck rakes, each with a capacity of carrying around 260 vehicles per trip.
What happened last June?
Last June, the carmaker launched in-plant railway siding at its Manesar plan that’s now used to dispatch models made at the Gurugram and Manesar plants to 17 hubs serving 380 cities across India. This siding also serves the the port locations of Mundra and Pipavav, which are being used for exports.
Rail dispatches in 2025 from two of MSIL’s in-plant railway siding – at Gujarat and Manesar facilities – accounted for 53% of the total rail dispatches.
Over the years, the company has implemented various measures to enhance environment-friendly operations, including adopting ‘circular mobility’ approach to promote sustainability across different functions such as product design, manufacturing, vehicle despatches, and end-of-life vehicle management.