Rohtak: Japanese auto giant Suzuki on Friday announced an investment of up to Rs 1,500 crore in the next 6-7 years for setting up a research and development centre in India, which will be the company's global small car R&D hub.
The company's subsidiary -- Maruti Suzuki India – will develop the 700-acre R&D centre, to be constructed in two phases, here in Haryana by 2015.
"This facility in Rohtak would be a big step forward in building the R&D capability of Maruti Suzuki, and enable us to offer superior products to ur customers in the future as well," Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Managing Director and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi said here.
The R&D facility, to be set up at an investment of Rs 1,000- Rs 1,500 crore, would become the Japanese auto giant's global showcase for small cars, he said adding that MSI would design and develop a made-in-India car by 2012.
Nakanishi said the project would add to MSI's in-house R&D capabilities and would be a "dream-come-true" for Indian engineers and automobile designers.
The largest such facility by Suzuki Motor Corp (SMC) outside Japan would comprise a 600-acre R&D centre and test tracks and a vendors park spread over 100 acres.
SMC would develop the land and construct the test tracks in the first phase by 2012, while the entire project would be completed by 2015.
The centre would have a modern test track with crash test facility, emission labs, wind tunnel testing, durability testing, besides component performance evaluation facilities.
The vendor partners of India's largest car-maker, Maruti Suzuki, would bring in further investment in their plants at the dedicated suppliers' park within the complex.
"The R&D centre is intended to facilitate the entire process, starting with the concept of a car to a world class product. We hope to maintain our competitive position and are looking to change our design and products to meet the customers requirement," MSI Chairman R C Bhargava said.
To compete internationally, a strong domestic base is necessary, he added.
On making the centre as the global small car R&D hub, Bhargava said: "The world is moving from large cars to the smaller cars. We also have to position ourselves to meet the changing needs."
Since the roll out of the first 'Maruti 800' from its Gurgaon plant on December 14, 1983, MSI has produced 81,05,228 cars in 14 models as of July 31 from its Gurgaon and Manesar facilities. It is currently executing a Rs 9,000 crore capex programme, excluding the R&D centre investment, for adding a new plant at Manesar and increasing the capacity of the Gurgaon facility, besides launching news models.
From being a joint venture between the government and SMC, called Maruti Udyog Ltd, with the latter holding a minority stake of 26 percent, it is now Maruti Suzuki India controlled by the Japanese firm.
Maruti to decide on launching ‘Kizashi’ in India
The country's largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), on Friday said it will decide on bringing in luxury sedan 'Kizashi' to India within the next two years.
MSI's parent Suzuki Motor Corp (SMC), which announced its intention to become complete carmaker with larger sedans in the portfolio when it launched the SX4, has been developing a big sedan based on the Kizashi concept powered by a 3.5 litre engine aimed at markets like the US.
However, SMC scaled down development of large cars following preference of smaller vehicles in the global auto market due to economic meltdown. It is now developing a 2 litre engine for the Kizashi concept car, which would be the biggest car in SMC's passenger car portfolio.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, August 22, 2009, 00:13