Maruti Suzuki began shipping vehicles 34 years ago and currently, 14 models including the Suzuki Jimny are exported to global markets
Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) has today announced a new milestone of reaching two million vehicle exports from the local manufacturing plants today. Going in line with the Make-in-India initiative, the largest carmaker in the country is shipping to many global markets. The celebratory batch of Maruti Suzuki products comprising S-Presso, Swift and Vitara Brezza is exported to South Africa from the Mundra Port in Gujarat.
The Indo-Japanese manufacturer has commenced exports of its vehicles from India way back in the Financial Year 1986-87. In September 1987, the first big consignment of 500 cars was exported to Hungary and the rest was history. In FY2012-13, the Company reached the milestone of one million exports and the next one million has arrived in a very short period of time.
In the first million, more than 50 per cent of the total exports were done to developed markets in Europe. Over the next eight years, Maruti Suzuki focussed on exporting to emerging markets in Latin America, Asia and Africa. The brand has been able to grab a big chunk of market share in countries like Chile, Indonesia, South Africa and Sri Lanka courtesy of the shipped cars.
In these markets, hatchbacks like Alto, Baleno and Swift gained prominence along with the Dzire compact sedan. Speaking on the achievement, Kenichi Ayukawa, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Limited said, “The Company is committed to Hon’ble Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi’s vision of Make-in-India. The 2 million vehicle exports from Maruti Suzuki are a testimony of the same.”
Maruti Suzuki has been exporting vehicles for the past 34 years a significant period before India became a main player in the global automotive scenes. This is said to have helped in enhancing the quality and attain global benchmarkers. At present, MSIL exports 14 models including the Suzuki Jimny off-roader and overall more than 150 variants are shipped to over 100 nations.
With India as a production base for Jimny, Suzuki aims to leverage Maruti Suzuki’s global production stature and meet the demands for the fourth-generation model.