Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest vehicle manufacturer is in full swing to double its size.
Chairman RC Bhargava said he’s preparing the company to produce 4 million cars a year by 2030. Currently, the company produces around 2.25 million vehicles across its plants in Gujarat and Haryana.
Bhargava told CNBC-TV18 that the aim is to incentivise employees and convince them that their lives would be better if the company became more competitive and cost-efficient.
Maruti Suzuki is the leader in the Indian market, and sells nearly thrice as many cars as its closest competition Hyundai. However, the Indian vehicle market is a very competitive space and is going through rapid transformation.
Hyundai on average, makes around Rs. 8.29 lakh per car sold. Maruti Suzuki on the other hand makes lesser at Rs. 5.8 lakh. The EBITDA per vehicle for Hyundai India was ₹1.15 lakh, compared to Maruti’s nearly ₹56,000 in FY23.
Maruti Suzuki has been losing its market share in the small cars segment, which for decades it dominated.
Furthermore, compared to other manufacturers, Maruti Suzuki has been slow to adopt the electric vehicle transition. Bhargava is not convinced that EVs would be the primary choice for Indian car buyers.
“I don’t think EVs in India can ever become the main choice for car buyers,” he said
In 2023, a little more that six vehicles in every 100 sold were EVs, according to reports.