Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL), which has a Pre-Dispatch Inspection (PDI) facility at Mundra Port in Gujarat, is likely to set up a manufacturing facility at Sanand in Ahmedabad district close to Tata Motors Ltd's Nano plant.

However, there was no official word available, either from the State Government or the car maker.

“The State Government is not in a position to confirm or deny these reports,” said a source. The French carmaker Peugeot's officials had also recently visited Gujarat, apparently scouting for land to set up their plant.

According to the market buzz, Maruti is expected to be allotted around 500 acres near Sanand.

This would be India's largest car maker's third manufacturing facility and its first outside Haryana where it has assembly line plants at Gurgaon and Manesar.

Together, these plants have the capacity to manufacture 12 lakh cars annually. In October 2008, the State Government announced the allotment of 1,100 acres to Tata Motors.

Its PDI facility at the Mundra Port has the capacity to handle two lakh cars a year. It mainly exports vehicles assembled in Haryana, from this port, and is also mulling transportation of cars to the southern States via coastal shipping which could be cost-effective compared to surface transportation. A manufacturing plant in Gujarat would make logistical sense as it is expected to make Maruti's prices more competitive, said the source.

The State Government has been selling the idea of making Gujarat an auto hub like Tamil Nadu where Ford, Mitsubishi, Reynolds-Nissan and Ashok Leyland have facilities near Chennai. In Gujarat, which has a strong manufacturing base, General Motors has an LCV plant near Vadodara. Bombardier Transportation too has a plant that supplies bogies to Metro in New Delhi.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW