Suzuki plans to make 4 million cars a year in India by 2030

Japanese carmaker Suzuki is preparing a major expansion of its production capacity in India, aiming to build around 40 lakh vehicles a year in the country by fiscal 2030. The increase would be about 38 percent over current capacity, underlining how India is becoming not just a manufacturing base for Suzuki but also a key hub for exports around the world.

Maruti Suzuki's current annual production capacity stands at around 29 lakh vehicles. Under the company's earlier plans, this was to reach 29 lakh units by the end of fiscal 2027 and 36.5 lakh units by the end of fiscal 2031. But citing rising demand and export opportunities, Suzuki has now raised its target to 40 lakh vehicles, going well beyond its earlier plan.

Demand for vehicles surged sharply last year after changes to GST rates on small cars. As a result, Maruti Suzuki faced bookings exceeding its production capacity for some time, and the company kept its plants running on Sundays and holidays to meet demand. The new capacity is expected to help speed up vehicle production and delivery going forward.

Another major goal for Suzuki is to halve the time it takes to develop a new car by 2030. To do this, the company will advance design, production, quality and procurement processes together, while also increasing the use of digital engineering and common modules to speed up the entire process of developing new vehicles.

Suzuki is also working on a range-extended electric vehicle technology called "REEV Light" for compact cars. Under this technology, the car's wheels will be driven by an electric motor, while a small petrol engine will act as a generator to keep charging the battery. The aim is to give the vehicle a longer driving range without fitting a large battery. This technology could prove significant for India going forward.