Maruti Suzuki To Ramp Up Exports: Maruti Suzuki India is aiming to export about 8 lakh vehicles annually by the fiscal year 2030-31, from its current exports of around 3 lakh units. “Four years ago, we were exporting about one lakh cars per year, which has now risen to three lakh cars annually. By the end of this decade, we are targeting exports of 7.5 to 8 lakh vehicles per year, bringing us close to the one million mark,” Rahul Bharti, Executive Director, Corporate Affairs, said.

Maruti Suzuki India, India’s leading passenger vehicle company in domestic market and exports has attained the milestone of 3 million cumulative exports. The three millionth landmark vehicle was part of a shipment of 1,053 units that sailed from Gujarat’s Pipavav port yesterday comprising models like Celerio, Fronx, Jimny, Baleno, Ciaz, Dzire and S-Presso.

“We did the first million in about 24 years, 8 months. We were able to do the second million in 8 years, 10 months and the third million just in 3 years and 9 months… We are increasing our exports at a very fast pace,” he said.

On achieving the milestone of 3 million vehicle exports, Rahul Bharti highlighted the company’s rapid growth in global markets. “Our exports are growing at an unprecedented pace. We export to about 100 countries of the world and customers from these countries are very happy choosing a Maruti car year after year. The numbers are increasing steeply,” he said.

Maruti currently exports vehicles to approximately 100 countries worldwide. Bharti attributed the growth to the trust of global customers in Maruti’s technology, quality, safety, emission standards, and performance.

“It is an assurance of the technology, the quality, the competitiveness of the safety, the emission, and the performance of our cars across the world. It is a strong assurance of our cars’ global competitiveness. This also boosts our confidence that Indian customers will continue choosing Maruti for years to come,” he added.

Discussing Maruti’s Electric Vehicle (EV) export plans, Bharti revealed that the company is gearing up to unveil its first electric cars at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo scheduled from January 17-22 in New Delhi.

“We have already showcased the production version of our Gujarat-made EV model in Milan, on an ice skating rink no less. This EV will be exported to several markets, including Europe, Japan, and other parts of Asia, alongside our home market in India,” Bharti asserted.

Maruti Suzuki Looks To Enhance Exports: Maruti Suzuki India is targeting markets like UAE, Saudi Arabia, Chile, Mexico, and other Latin American countries with its upcoming new version of compact sedan Dzire to accelerate exports as it eyes over 300,000 units of overseas shipments this fiscal, a senior company official said on Wednesday. In the domestic market, the company hopes to enhance its share in the sedan market amid the passenger vehicles market shifting towards SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles), with the new Dzire which is slated for launch next week.

“We have been growing (exports) at a rate of about 11.9 per cent in the first seven months of the financial year and we hope to continue on that momentum. So we hope to do more than about 300,000 car exports within this financial year,” Maruti Suzuki India Executive Director Corporate Affairs Rahul Bharti said. In contrast, just about four years ago, the company’s exports were below 100,000 per year, he added.

“So, now we’ll be doing about three times of that, and by the turn of the decade, we hope to multiply it another three times over to something like 800,000 units a year,” Bharti added. Elaborating on the export strategy, Bharti said, “One of the biggest enablers of increasing export is more models in more geographies. So, we are adding the number of models, and we are adding the markets also.”

 

At the moment, he said, the company is exporting to Latin America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Further, he said, “At some point in time, we will re-enter Europe and Japan also (with upcoming electric SUV).”

 

With the upcoming new version of Dzire compact sedan, Bharti said, “We hope to increase our exports also because with the new sleek design, technologies, six airbags, as standard, it is being widely accepted in the market.”

 

He further said, “We have to increase the density in those (existing) markets. We will target markets like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Chile, Mexico, other countries in Latin America and maybe some markets in Southeast Asia also.”

 

The existing Dzire model was among the top three export models in October, he added. On the domestic front, Maruti Suzuki India Senior Executive Officer, Marketing and Sales, Partho Banerjee said the company hopes to enhance its share in the sedan market with the new offering.

Last year, the outgoing version of Dzire clocked over 160,000 units, he said, adding that with the new offering coming in, the company expects more growth. “Every second car which is sold in the sedan segment (in the domestic market) happens to be from Maruti…We are, in fact, increasing our market share in the sedan segment,” he asserted.

Banerjee acknowledged that with the SUVs growing faster, the sedan segment is shrinking but sedans will continue to have its market as SUV demand stabilises at some point in time. “Being the market leader we need to be present in all the segments.

“Our take is this, in each segment, we need to be present and offer products to the consumers. Let the consumer decide which form factor they want to go,” Banerjee said.