With the 15-day strike at Maruti Suzuki coming to an end, the focus now shifts to the all-important decision that Suzuki will take on the location of the new Maruti factory. Gujarat is clearly the front-runner but no definite indications are forthcoming. Maruti’s parent company, Suzuki of Japan, is slated to make the all-important announcement on 29 October.

In an interview to a TV channel last week, chairman R C Bhargava said the state government had shown the government some plots. The Sanand belt is now abuzz with two big-ticket investments announced by Ford India and more recently, Peugeot, each worth about $1 billion.

Tata Motors were the first to set up shop at Sanand in 2009 when it decided to exit West Bengal following political issues over the Singur site. The 250,000 unit capacity unit rolls out the Nano.

With the strike now over, Maruti will focus on restoring full production at both its Manesar and Gurgaon units. The all-new Swift has over 100,000 estimated bookings and the company will want to ensure that those who have booked it get their vehicles. Monthly sales of the Swift are in the region of 12,000 units and before the strike took its toll, Maruti was keen to up output to 17,000 units.