Suzuki Motor Corp banking on Maruti and India for bigger scale

The president of Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), Toshihiro Suzuki has stated that his company is not keen on striking an alliance with another global automaker in the near future. “We have just come out of a divorce (with Volkswagen), so we are not thinking of getting into another marriage immediately. I am not sure whether getting into a collaboration with another automaker is such a good idea anymore,” he said at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

SMC plans to go it alone in the future and will explore cooperation with component suppliers for new technologies. “There are various technologies we are developing and our engineers are investigating whether we should do it on our own or in collaboration with component suppliers,” he said.

The company currently produces around 3 million cars globally, which is far below the scale of top manufacturers like Toyota, GM and Volkswagen, each of which produce around 10 million vehicles a year. However, Toshihiro Suzuki doesn’t feel SMC needs more volumes to survive on its own. “I am not of the view that it is only companies with large volumes that can survive. There are big and small players and both survive; so I don’t think that scale is an issue going forward.”

SMC, however, is banking on Maruti for its future growth. “By 2025, India is expected to become the third largest market in the world and hence in SMC’s overall future strategy, Maruti’s role is becoming increasingly important,” says Suzuki. However, he concedes that banking so heavily on India “is a risk” but adds that “there are lots of bright spots and opportunities for further growth as well.”

Suzuki has tasked Maruti with an ambitious sales target of 2 million cars in India. “This will be a big achievement for us and Suzuki and Maruti are working together as a team to develop the Indian market further. We will also look at other markets like Africa together,” said the Suzuki president.

Ambitious new model plan
Suzuki has an ambitious plan to launch 20 new models in the next five years and most of those could be headed to India. “Except for the kei-jidosha (for the Japanese market only) cars, we will bring all our models to India.”

Suzuki hinted that with the growing aspiration of consumers in India, he would look at “gradually going upmarket with more premium models.” Currently, the only models that cater to the higher segments are the recently launched S-Cross crossover and the Ciaz sedan.

Suzuki also plans to beef up Maruti’s R&D capabilities. The company has invested upwards of Rs 2,000 crore in a state-of-the-art R&D facility in Rohtak, Haryana, which is geared to design and develop vehicles from the ground up.

“We have started the process of product development in India as we did with Suzuki Motor Corporation 50 years ago. Eventually, I want Maruti to build its own R&D expertise and be in a position to eventually develop cars for Suzuki too,” said Toshihiro Suzuki, convinced that it will be Maruti and India that will chart the future of his company. 

Also read: Maruti Suzuki to launch Baleno hatchback in India soon