Maruti turns 25

At a time when the Indian automobile industry is passing through one of its worst phases, the country’s largest car-maker, Maruti Suzuki India celebrated its 25th anniversary and is aiming to be a global player. “Twenty-five years ago, when we set out on our journey, the objective was to modernise the Indian automotive industry and bring about a change in personal transportation. I can say proudly we have achieved that,” Maruti Suzuki India chairman C Bhargava said. He said in the 25 years to come, the company’s objective would to be to take its mission forward and become a global player. “Now we want to be a global player in every sense ...from research and development and designing cars to manufacturing; we want to be among the best in the world,” he said.Bhargava said although the current market conditions are tough, they would not deter the company in striving to achieve its goals.“The future will be even more challenging, but we are up for it,” he added. Since the rollout of the first Maruti 800 (M800) from its Gurgaon plant on December 14, 1983, the company has so far sold over 70 lakh cars of 12 models with over 100 variants, with the M800 alone accounting for 27,36,046 units, of which 25,43,132 units were in the domestic market and the rest abroad.
The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi said: “It is my desire that this motorcar will serve the ordinary people of India and they will have no complaint about this car. I hope it will contribute in every aspect of nation building and will serve the Indian people.” Over the past 25 years, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) (earlier Maruti Udyog) has contributed about Rs 50,000 crore to the national exchequer. The company is undertaking a Rs 9,000 crore investment programme of adding a facility at Manesar and increasing the capacity of the Gurgaon plant, besides ramping up R&D. The company has seen changes. From being a joint venture between the government and Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp with the latter holding a minority stake of 26%, it is now controlled by the Japanese firm. Currently it enjoys a formidable 54.8% share of the domestic passenger car market with a presence in nearly 400 towns and cities through a network of 600 sales outlets.Lately, it has been going through a rough patch with its domestic sales in November dropping 24.84% at 43,258 units as against 57,554 units in November last year