By Sumit Khanna
Ahmedabad — Indian vehicle maker Maruti Suzuki will invest 350-billion rupees ($3.9bn) in a plant it plans to set up in the western Indian state of Gujarat, the state’s government said on Saturday.
The plant will add production capacity of up to 1-million vehicles a year for the carmaker as it expands manufacturing to meet rising demand in India, the world’s third-largest car market, and for exports, Gujarat said in a statement.
Production at the plant is expected to begin in the 2029 financial year and will add to the annual production capacity of 2.4-million vehicles for Maruti, which is majority owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor and is India’s top carmaker by sales.
The company has an order backlog of about one-and-a-half months for its entry-level models, its marketing and sales head, Partho Banerjee, said this month. The company said its sales to domestic dealers rose 37% in December to a record 178,646 units.
Over the past week, Maruti’s board of directors approved an initial investment of 49.6-billion rupees to acquire land for the plant.
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