Suzuki Motor to expand India capacity, raise factory productivity by 50%

New Delhi: Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor on Friday said it aims to halve vehicle development times by 2030 and boost production capacity in India as part of a push to speed new model launches and strengthen its global manufacturing footprint. 

Suzuki Motor Corporation President Toshihiro Suzuki said that the company would improve development efficiency by 30 per cent from fiscal 2020 levels and raise factory productivity by 50 per cent above standards at its Manesar plant in Haryana.

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Suzuki said it would retain a multi‑powertrain strategy rather than bet solely on battery electric vehicles (BEV).

He identified Japan and India as the key centres of its global business foundation, adding that technologies developed in Japan will be shared with Maruti Suzuki India and adapted for individual markets.

“Technology is shared. Products are regionally optimised. This is our mindset, and this is how Suzuki competes,” Toshihiro Suzuki said, mentioning the target of an annual Indian production capacity of 4 million vehicles by FY30, up from current level of 2.9 million units.

A fourth production line at Hansalpur, Gujarat, recently boosted the current output to an annual capacity to one million units.

Suzuki also operates plants in Gurugram, Manesar and Kharkhoda, with plans for a new site in Sanand.

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Suzuki makes vehicles plans to work concurrently on planning, design, production engineering, quality and procurement rather than performing these functions sequentially.

The company also plans to deepen digital engineering and expand modularisation, to share modules across products and integrate development and manufacturing more closely.

The automaker argued that differences in electricity generation, renewable energy, charging infrastructure, fuel availability, and government policy reduce applicability of a single propulsion technology across all markets.

Hence it will continue to develop BEVs and hybrids alongside internal-combustion-engine, compressed natural gas, flex-fuel and carbon-neutral-fuel technologies.