Maruti Suzuki India will ramp up its production and aims to produce 20 million units in the current fiscal with improved availability of semiconductors, according to company chairman RC Bhargava. Addressing shareholders in the company’s 2021-22 annual report, he said the upcoming mid-size SUV Grand Vitara will play a key role in the challenge to touch 20 lakh units.
In 2021-22, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd’s (MSIL) total sales rose 13.4 percent to 16.52 million units. It lost sales in the first quarter of the fiscal year due to the pandemic and production affected by semiconductor shortages, especially for domestic models, Bhargava wrote. “The company’s year-end backlog rose to around 2.7 million,” he said, adding that MSIL’s market share fell to 43.4 percent from nearly 50 percent as it lost some opportunity in the domestic market.
According to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) data, domestic passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market stood at 30,69,499 units in 2021-22 compared to 27,11,457 units in 2020-21. On the outlook for this year, he said: “Vehicle production would increase as the semiconductor availability situation has improved. Your company has also made other improvisations to increase production. I challenge our team to reach 2 million units, although doing so remains a challenge. “
Bhargava further said that the launch of the Grand Vitara, which Toyota will manufacture at its Karnataka plant, “is one of the reasons why we expect to increase production and challenge 2 million units”. The new SUV will also come with Toyota’s powerful hybrid technology, making it the “first cars with this technology to be made in India”, he said.
The improvement in Maruti Suzuki’s SUV portfolio is necessary to offset the decline in sales of non-premium hatchbacks, the company’s key segment, which fell 5 percent in FY22 due to rising costs compared to 2020-21 and were lower. by 29 percent over 2018-19, he added.”On the other hand, the SUV sector continued to grow. We didn’t have enough models in this segment to compete effectively, although now with the launch of the facelifted Brezza and the global launch of the Grand Vitara, the situation has improved significantly,” he added. said Bhargava.
More models will follow, he said, adding, “We hope MSIL’s market share will grow rapidly in the SUV segment.” On electric vehicles (EVs), he said Suzuki Motor Corporation’s Gujarat plant will start production in 2024-25 and will be sold by MSIL.”As I stated last year, it will take time for electric cars to become a mainstream product in all segments of the automotive market. In the period before this change occurs, the goal of reducing the carbon footprint would facilitate incentives for the use of CNG, ethanol, biogas and strong hybrids in addition to EVs,” he added.
To meet future requirements, MSIL has completed the purchase of land in Kharkhoda, Haryana for its new manufacturing plant where it will invest Rs 11,000 crore in the first phase. “We are giving high priority to expanding the production facilities at this location to meet future requirements. The first unit is planned to be commissioned in 2025 and the second one around a year later,” he added. Depending on market conditions, Bhargava said, “…this location has the potential to become one of the largest automobile manufacturing plants anywhere in the world. The facility will incorporate the best of technology and create employment opportunities in the state of Haryana and all over India.”
