Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corporation announced on Tuesday an investment of Rs 70,000 crore in the Indian market over the next five to six years. Suzuki is expanding its operations in India, confirmed Representative Director and President Toshihiro Suzuki.
Export of eVITARA to 100 countries
The export of Maruti Suzuki India’s first electric vehicle, the eVITARA, to 100 countries was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The inauguration of lithium-ion battery cell production was also held, which will further strengthen the electric vehicle ecosystem. Speaking at the event, Toshihiro Suzuki said, “Suzuki will invest over Rs 70,000 crore in India over the next 5 to 6 years.”
Toshihiro further shared that Suzuki has proudly partnered with India for over four decades and remains committed to supporting the vision of green mobility in Viksit Bharat.
Target of producing 40 lakh units annually
In an interview, Maruti Suzuki India Chairman R. C. Bhargava said that the investment is aimed at meeting the company’s target of producing 40 lakh units annually. “We are expanding to 4 million (units annually). So the expansion of 4 million units capacity, with all the supporting infrastructure, investment in R&D, and new technologies—all of that takes a lot of money,” Bhargava said.
Second plant soon
Talking about the second plant to be set up in Gujarat, Bhargava said, “I am hoping we will be answering that question more specifically after the GST Council meeting (on September 4), because after that everybody will be making an estimate of what the impact of the GST decisions are going to be on future growth.” He declined to comment further on GST slab implications.
Maruti Suzuki India, part of the Suzuki Group, has already invested over Rs 1 lakh crore in India, creating more than 11 lakh jobs.
Gujarat to be a global production hub
Speaking about the Gujarat unit, Toshihiro Suzuki said the facility has served customers globally and will soon become one of the largest automobile manufacturing hubs, with capacity planned to be increased to 10 lakh units. “We chose this facility to manufacture the eVITARA, our first BEV, and make it a global production hub for this model. We will export this ‘Made-in-India BEV’ to over 100 countries, including Japan and Europe.”
