Maruti Suzuki has started work on a £2.4 billion investment plan to set up a 10,00,000 per annum car production factory that would come outside Haryana, sources said. The company is building a second factory in Haryana's Kharkhoda (Sonipat) that will produce 10,00,000 units annually at a peak. In addition to planning a big push for exports, it aims to give operations more punch because it is still bullish about car sales in India.
“The board is likely to approve the investment plans soon and groundwork will happen towards early parts of 2024 by when the land would have been acquired,” one of the sources said.
Maruti will meet the investment needs through internal accruals. It has $45,000 billion in cash on hand. In order to preserve its dominance in India and regain 50% of the market share for cars, the firm believes that quick growth in sales and manufacturing is one of the most important tactics.
The company’s Haryana plants - in Gurgaon and Manesar - have a capacity of 15,00,000 units annually (additional 100,000 units will be added to Manesar by 2024-25),while Suzuki’s Gujarat factory gives another 750,000-800,000 units annually. Its partner Toyota provides the company with 50,000 units through its factory in Karnataka.
The company is targeting to begin the first batch of production at Sonipat from 2025 with 250,000 cars per annum.