Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated Maruti Suzuki's manufacturing plant in Hansalpur, Gujarat, in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, the Ambassador of Japan, Keiichi Ono, Toshihiro Suzuki, President of Suzuki Motor, and other executives of the brand. The facility will play a major role in shaping the brand's future in India and around the globe by becoming one of the largest automobile manufacturing facilities in the world.
The facility is expected to put India on the global map, improving its presence in the automotive industry. Furthermore, with one of the largest manufacturing facilities, India will attract foreign direct investment and can compete against countries like China.
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The manufacturing plant is the first facility in India that will be used to produce Maruti Suzuki's electric vehicles and for the production of Li-ion battery cells and electrodes for strong hybrid vehicles in a collaboration among Toshiba, Denso, and Suzuki. These products will be exported to over 100 countries by the automaker, including the e-Vitara, the first BEV of the brand.
Furthermore, the Hansalpur plant has the capacity to manufacture up to 750,000 vehicles each year across three production lines and was recently handed over to Maruti Suzuki from Suzuki Motor Corporation. Currently, the Indian subsidiary has an annual production capability of 2.35 million vehicles distributed across three facilities, two of which are in Haryana (Gurugram and Manesar) and one in Gujarat.
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Using the facility, Maruti Suzuki has also revealed its intention to nearly double its production capacity to 4 million vehicles by the end of the decade. It has recently started production at its new greenfield facility in Kharkhoda, Haryana, which has an initial capacity of 250,000 units. Additionally, another greenfield plant is being planned in Gujarat.
The new facility also paves the way for increased investment in India from Suzuki Motor Corporation. The Japanese company intends to invest Rs 70,000 crore in India over the next five to six years to strengthen its market presence. This decision is influenced by the fact that India represents the largest market for the Japanese automaker, contributing over 61 per cent of its total production and 57 per cent of global sales in the previous fiscal year.