Maruti finalizes site for plant in Haryana, 2.5 lakh cars per year in 1st phase

Maruti Suzuki on Friday informed it has finalized an 800-acre site at IMT Kharkoda in Haryana's Sonipat district that will soon be home to its newest plant with a stated output capacity of at least 2.5 lakh units per year in the first phase. Maruti Suzuki has been in talks with the government of Haryana for investment into a new manufacturing facility to expand its overall output of vehicles produced.

In the first phase, Maruti Suzuki plans to invest ₹11,000 crore and the first plant here is expected to be commissioned by 2025, subject to administrative approvals. The company further informs that there is space here to establish more manufacturing facilities at later dates.

Maruti Suzuki currently has an output capacity of 20 lakh units each year from its facilities in Gurugram, Manesar and from Suzuki Motor's plant in Hansalpur Becharaji village in Gujarat's Ahmadabad district.

The OEM manufactures several hot-selling models like WagonR, Swift, Alto, Eeco and Celerio in the small-vehicle category. It also has a sizeable share in the utility vehicle space with Vitara Brezza, Ertiga and XL6 faring well.

The company is also looking at soon entering the mid-size SUV space. As such, Maruti Suzuki is also looking at playing a bigger role in the bigger segments of passenger vehicles. "Small cars used to be our bread and butter," Maruti Suzuki India Chairman R.C. Bhargava said in a recent post-earnings media call. “There’s no butter in small cars anymore. We will have to change our strategy. People with limited income are getting squeezed out of the car market due to higher cost," he said, adding the market for hatchbacks is “shrinking significantly." (Read full report here)

But while Maruti Suzuki has made some power moves in 2022 so far, launching the updated Baleno, Ertiga and XL6, production processes and delivery timelines remain a concern owing to a global shortage in semiconductor chip, a problem faced by almost every other OEM as well. Rising input costs have also been blamed by Maruti Suzuki for the recent spate of car price hikes. Overall though, auto experts predict demand for passenger vehicles to remain robust despite on-ground challenges prevailing in the foreseeable future.

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