Indian carmaker Maruti Suzuki reported a 19pc growth with 168,180 units in February compared to total production the previous year period. Production in February was up 4pc from January, which was at 160,975 units. Maruti Suzuki’s production had dipped 10pc in January compared to prior-year period.
Passenger vehicle production rose 18pc to 119,304 units in February, driven by a growth of 14pc in mini and compact segment from the prior-year period. Mid-sized segment production dipped 34pc to 2,950 units from 2020 levels.
Passenger cars production rose 13pc to 121,241 units in February from prior-year period, while light commercial vehicles output – a segment struggling for more than a year — rose a whopping 326pc to 2,397 units.
Sales
In February, Maruti Suzuki’s total sales rose 11.8pc to 164,469 units (including exports).
Existing capacity
Maruti Suzuki has two main manufacturing plants in India with a combined annual production capacity of 1.2mn units — Gurgaon unit with 240,000 units and Manesar unit with 800,000 units capacity annually. Maruti’s production is also carried out in Gujarat facility which is owned by Suzuki Motor Corporation and has a production capacity of 500,000 units.
Expansion plans
Media reports said that Maruti Suzuki is planning to produce a total of 2.4mn units in the next fiscal starting April 2021, which will be its highest production in four decades. This will result in higher demand for its supplies and raw materials including steel and other auto parts that also consume several metals and alloys. Strong growth in production and sales is expected in the upcoming FY2022, putting behind FY21 which was struck by the pandemic.