Maruti Suzuki India Limited is a joint venture of Maruti Udyog Limited, a company started by the Government of India in 1981, and Japanese automobile company Suzuki. The joint venture agreement was signed in the year 1982.
India is one of the favourite places of automotive investors. The attractive costs of operations, and availability of workforce makes India one of the largest automotive markets in the world.
Among the several homegrown as well as overseas giants competing in this hugely dynamic market, Maruti Suzuki is the leading automobile manufacturer in the world, capturing around 53% of the market.
Early Days
In the early days, Maruti Suzuki only used to import cars. Maruti received the right to import 40,000 assembled cars in the first two years. They started producing the cars locally in 1983. The Maruti Van was released in 1984 and made Maruti Suzuki a household name. The vehicle was hugely accepted in the Indian consumer market.
Market Liberalisation
After liberalisation of the Indian Economy in 1991, Suzuki increased its stake in Maruti to 50 percent, making the company a 50-50 joint venture with the Government of India the other stake holder. The launch of Zen in 1993, and that of Esteem in the subsequent year upped the sales of Maruti Suzuki cars drastically. The year 2000 saw Maruti Suzuki launch India’s first customer care centre for internal and customer services.
Manufacturing Progress
The first manufacturing plant of Maruti was set up in Gurgaon (present day Gurugram). It is spread over an area of 300 acres. The facility has three fully integrated manufacturing plants. The facilities manufacture 2,40,000 engines annually.
An even bigger plant located in Manesar was opened in the year 2007 and is spread over an area of 600 acres. It initially had a production capacity of 1,00,000 vehicles, which was later increased to 3,00,000 in 2008. The plant now produces 8,00,000 vehicles annually.
Maruti Suzuki opened a new plant in Gujarat which became operational in 2017. It currently has the capacity of manufacturing 2,50,000 vehicles annually.
Products and Services
The company targets at reaching the goal of fully functional 4,000 sales and service centres by 2020. It currently stands at 1958. In 2015, Maruti Suzuki launched NEXA, a new dealership of its premium cars. Maruti insurance was launched in 2002 which provides vehicle insurance to its customers. This service started as a benefit or value addition to customers and was able to ramp up easily.
Maruti Suzuki also has a division called Maruti Genuine Accessories to offer accessories like alloy wheels, body cover, carpets, door visors, etc. As part of corporate social responsibility, Maruti Suzuki launched the Maruti Driving School in Delhi. Later the services were extended to other cities. These schools are modelled on international standards, where learners go through classroom and practical sessions.
