Maruti Suzuki To Have Two Plants In Gujarat

Published: Monday, January 21, 2013, 12:34 [IST]

Maruti Suzuki has decided to have two car plants in Gujarat in a bid to boost car production in India. The leading Indian carmaker has already started building a car plant at a 700 acre plot that was allotted to it by the Gujarat state government.

The second Maruti Suzuki car plant in Gujarat will be situated in a 480 acre plot the the company has acquired itself near the villages of Ughroz and Ukarade. Suzuki, the Japanese parent company of Maruti Suzuki has taken keen interest in expanding production facilities in Gujarat. In fact Suzuki Motor Company (SMC) chairman Osamu Suzuki will be visiting India on January 24th to finalise these plans.

Suzuki has always considered its Indian operations as a very important aspect of its global plans. With India contributing a major chunk of its revenue and profits, SMC appears to have decided to make India its small car manufacturing hub.

The two Gujarat car plans will not only help Maruti Suzuki cater to local demand but will also facilitate greater exports. The company has already developed the Mundra port as part of its plans to boost exports.

Maruti Suzuki will be investing as much as INR 4,000 crores in Gujarat to develop its two car plants. The plants will have an initial annual production capacity of 2.5 lakh units and will be expanded further over the years.

Maruti Suzuki chairman Mr RC Bhargava had earlier said that the company would follow the Haryana model of having twin plants and was looking at a second location in Gujarat. The new development will help Gujarat become yet another automobile hub in India. The Gurgaon-Manesar belt in Haryana, Chennai in Tamil Nadu and Chakan in Maharashtra have the maximum number of automobile manufacturing facilities.