Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2024: Suzuki to invest ₹35,000 cr for 2nd plant in state

Japanese automobile manufacturer Suzuki Corporation Limited, the parent company of Maruti Suzuki India is planning to invest a whopping ₹35,000 crore for the construction of a second manufacturing facility in Gujarat, which will produce an additional one million units in the state. The company already has a manufacturing facility in Gujarat, with a production capacity of one million units. The announcement was made on the sidelines of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2024, which kick-started on January 10.

According to Toshihiro Suzuki, president, Suzuki Motor Corporation, Maruti Suzuki will roll out its maiden battery electric vehicle by the end of 2024. "We plan to sell this model not only in India but also export to Japan and European countries," says Suzuki.

The automobile manufacturer will expand the production of its battery-electric vehicle. As part of its expansion plan, the company aims to invest ₹3,200 crore to add a fourth production line in Suzuki Motor Gujarat, which can produce 2.5 lakh units per year. With this, the annual production capacity of Suzuki Motor Gujarat will increase to one million units from the existing 7.5 lakh units. 

"We have also scaled up production capacity substantially in India. It is noteworthy that as compared to 10 years ago, we expect 1.7 times in vehicle production and 2.6 times in export sales in the current fiscal year," says Suzuki.

Notably, the company's two manufacturing facilities in Gurugram and Manesar together rolls out 15.5 lakh units per annum. 

The development comes as Maruti Suzuki, the country’s largest automobile manufacturer, aims to invest ₹1.25 lakh crore by FY31. The capex will be also utilised in scaling up the company's production capacity from 2 million units at present to 4 million units in the next 7 years.

It earlier revealed plans to launch 10-11 new SUV (sports utility vehicle) models, including six battery electric vehicles by FY31, thereby increasing its model count from 17 at present to 28 by FY31. The company expects a product mix going forward with petrol cars, electric vehicles, hybrid cars, cars using CNG, cars equipped with 20% or more ethanol and possibly cars operating on compressed biogas.

As part of its expansion plans, Maruti Suzuki had acquired a 100% stake in Suzuki Motor Gujarat by issuing shares worth ₹12,841 crore to Suzuki Motor Corporation in October last year. It issued 12.32 million equity shares to SMC to acquire Suzuki Motor Gujarat (SMG) at a price of ₹10,420.85 each. Suzuki Motor Gujarat is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation. 

Amid the development, the share price of the country’s largest automobile manufacturer was trading 0.20% lower at ₹10,003 in line with the broader BSE Sensex.