India becomes Suzuki’s 2nd market to cross 3 cr production

New Delhi: India has become the second country for Suzuki Motor Corporation to cross cumulative production of 3 crore units, reaching the milestone even faster than it achieved in its home nation, the Japanese carmaker said on Wednesday.

The company’s subsidiary, Maruti Suzuki India, has achieved accumulated automobile production of 3 crore units in India by the end of March 2024, Suzuki Motor Corporation said in a statement. “India becomes the second country after Japan in which Suzuki has reached this milestone, and the fastest country to reach 30 million units in just 40 years and 4 months since starting production in December 1983, breaking the record of 55 years and 2 months in Japan,” it said. Suzuki’s automobile production in India started with its first model, the Maruti 800 by the then Maruti Udyog Ltd, a joint venture between the company and the Government of India. Currently, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) has manufacturing facilities at Gurugram, Manesar (in Haryana) and Hansalpur (in Gujarat), from where the vehicles are rolled out. In a separate statement, MSIL said, “While over 2.68 crore vehicles have been manufactured at the company’s Haryana-based facilities, over 32 lakh vehicles were produced at Suzuki Motor Gujarat, a wholly owned subsidiary of MSIL.”

The M800, which revolutionised personal mobility in the country, played a significant role in this milestone with over 29 lakh units, it said, adding that other top contributors include successful models such as Alto 800, Alto K10, Swift, Wagon R, Dzire, Omni, Baleno, Eeco, Brezza and Ertiga. “We remain committed towards ‘Make in India’ and have been strengthening our operations in the country, catering to domestic as well as global markets. We contribute nearly 40 per cent to the total vehicle exports from India,” MSIL Managing Director & CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said.