Maruti Suzuki India is confident of selling two million vehicles by fiscal 2019-20, up from 1.64 million (domestic sales) in 2017-18. It hopes to sell three million units by 2025.

“We hope that the two-million mark will be reached in the next financial year and the next goal is three million cars a year by 2025,” RC Bhargava, Chairman, said in the company’s 2017-18 annual report.

In FY18, Maruti outperformed the industry growth for the sixth year in a row. For FY19, it has projected a double-digit growth, higher than the expected industry growth of 8-9 per cent.

In the last three years, there has been a noticeable shift towards petrol vehicles, primarily in the compact segment.

Within passenger vehicles, the company’s sales grew16.8 per cent in the petrol segment and 7.1 per cent in the diesel segment, said the report.

Bhargava said the contract manufacturing arrangement with Suzuki Motors Gujarat is working satisfactorily.

The first production line is in full swing and the second line will be commissioned early in 2019.

Work has started on a third line expected to be commissioned by early 2020.

He said the country’s car market is unique in that 75 per cent of the cars sold are below 4 metres in length and cost under ₹6.5 lakh at the factory level.

“As we gradually increase the percentage of electrified vehicles, a very large number of internal combustion engine vehicles would also be produced to meet the total demand. It would be better to use alternative technologies and fuels that reduce the consumption of petrol and diesel, rather than produce only electric cars and internal combustion cars,” he said.

He felt that it would be a good intermediate step to expand the usage of clean fuel such as CNG.

Kenichi Ayukawa, Managing Director & CEO, said, in the report, that the company’s R&D centre at Rohtak was building capabilities for future needs and the company would like to proceed to the next stage - Design in India.

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