New Delhi: Indian carmaker Maruti Suzuki on Monday said that they are planning to add up production capacity to 1 million units annually, having recently
bought land worth about $550 million. This is to expand manufacturing against rising domestic auto demand.
The country’s top carmaker by sales at present has an order backlog of close to one and a half months for their entry-level models, as noted by their marketing and sales head Partho Banerjee on January 1st. The brand had also noted that their sales to domestic dealers were up 37 per cent in December, with a record high of 1,78,646 units.
The planned expansion comes after Maruti Suzuki Motor’s announcement in August of an $8 billion investment in India over the coming five to six-year period. This was alongside the start of commercial production of the mid-sized e-Vitara SUV at their Gujarat factory.
Through their majority stake in Maruti Suki, Suzuki Motor already makes 17 models in India for export to around 100 countries, which include Japan as well. India will also become the global production hub for the brand’s electric cars, with the e-Vitara at present being made solely at Gujarat’s Hansalpur and is currently being shipped to 100 countries from India.
The expansion of the Maruti Suzuki facility and investment is good news and comes with competition rising in the market and more players threatening the strong hold the brand has had for decades now.
