One
of Japan’s largest car makers has decided to shift production of the
internationally popular Swift to India. Maruti Suzuki’s manufacturing plant in Haryana
is currently producing 14,000 units of the Swift every month while it has a
capacity of producing 17,000 units. With the domestic demand restricting the
scale of production, the remaining capacity will be dedicated towards exports
to International markets. The Manesar plant has begun manufacturing units that
are dedicated to the Latin American, West Asian and African markets. All these
markets received their supply from the domestic plants in Japan as they are all
LHD nations.
However,
now that the plant in India has acquired the necessary facilities to manufacture
both left and right hand drive vehicles, Suzuki Motor Corporation has decided
to begin expanding operations in India. Aside from the plant’s capability to
cater to multiple nationalities, the decision is supported by the fact that
India had proved to be an outsourcing hub. The fact that manufacturing in India
is cost effective has led Suzuki to look at India as both a buyer and a
producer. Plans are also on to shift from CKDs to CBUs for markets like
Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia in order to improve profitability.
The
operations moving to Manesar provides good news on multiple levels. The shift
will generate more employment at the plant and also assist the brand in the
European market. The only LHD Swift producing plants were the ones in Japan and
Hungary and with this move, Suzuki could improve its expansion plans in the
region. Currently the Swift is powered by a 1.2-litre petrol and a 1.3-litre
diesel in India while the larger 1.4-litre petrol is made in Japan. What’s more
is that if Suzuki adds to its existing operations in India we could see more
models being not only produced, but also sold here.
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