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Suzuki Motor Corporation (Japan) on Monday said it has achieved cumulative automobile production of 20 million units in India.
“India becomes the second country after Japan in which Suzuki has reached this milestone, and the fastest country to reach 20 million units in just 34 years and five months since starting production in December 1983, breaking the record of 45 years and nine months in Japan,” the company said in a statement. Of the 20 million units, Alto was the most produced model, with around 3.17 million units. After Alto, Maruti 800 (2.91 million) and WagonR (2.13 million) rank second and third, respectively.
A Swift produced at the Gujarat plant was the 20-millionth unit to be rolled out, it said.
The company had celebrated its ‘first million’ in 1994, its 10th million in March 2011 and 15th million in 2015.
In 2016, the company had said it is eyeing sales of two million (20 lakh) cars annually in India by 2020. India has already sped past Germany to become the world’s fourth-largest car market, and Maruti Suzuki has played a bigger role in it.
Maruti Suzuki sells around 1.50 lakh passenger vehicles every month in the domestic market and the number is growing year-on-year.
For instance, the company sold 1,61,497 units of passenger vehicles in May, up 24 per cent compared with 1,30,248 units in the same month last year.
Tie-up with Maruti
Suzuki’s automobile production in India started in December 1983 with its first model, the Maruti 800, by the erstwhile Maruti Udyog, the earlier avatar of Maruti Suzuki.
Since then, the number of production units and models was increased to meet the expanding needs arising from India’s fast-growing economy. Today, production is on at Gurugram and Manesar plants of Maruti Suzuki, as well as the Gujarat plant of Suzuki Motor Gujarat — Suzuki’s 100 per cent subsidiary — to produce automobiles in India.
At the three production sites, 16 models are produced, including the Dzire, Baleno, Alto, Swift, WagonR and Vitara Brezza.
In 2016-17, around 1.78 million units were produced in India, of which 1.65 million units were sold in India and 1.30 lakh units were exported to over 100 countries, Suzuki Motor added.
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