Maruti Suzuki, which sells one out of every two passenger vehicles in India, aims to double the number of automobiles exported from the nation in the next three years, according to people familiar with the company’s intentions. Suzuki Motor India intends to enhance its international shipments, which amounted for little more than 40% of India’s exports in the previous fiscal year, by using the global resources of its Japanese parent and alliance partner, Toyota Motor.
According to the sources, India is expected to become an important sourcing location for Suzuki and Toyota not just for vehicles but also for components such as lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.
According to its filings with stock exchanges under a new related-party disclosure regulation, Maruti Suzuki intends to export automobiles and components worth up to $2.5 billion (20,000 crore) over the next three years.
The export turnover approval limit of Rs 20,000 crore for fiscal 2025 means that shipments will exceed 350,000 units, assuming an average car cost of Rs 5.5 lakh. According to the sources, that would be roughly half of India’s expected passenger vehicle exports for that year.
Executive director Rahul Bharti did not comment particularly on the figures, but stated that exports had been expanding rapidly and that the company expected the trend to continue.
Maruti Suzuki surpassed Hyundai Motor India as India’s largest passenger car exporter in fiscal 2022, accounting for more than 238,000 of the 570,000 units exported from the country. Last fiscal year, revenue from exports was Rs 12,000 crore, more than doubling its average export revenues between FY16 and FY21, when it delivered an average of 100,000 vehicles each year.
According to an ETIG analysis, it is aiming for 18% annual export growth over the next three years, which is faster than the 14% reported over the previous five years.
Maruti Suzuki’s abroad volume increased 147% in an export market that expanded 42% in FY22. In the previous fiscal year, the Dzire compact sedan was the most exported vehicle, followed by the Baleno and Swift hatchbacks.
According to Bharti, the company built its global network by leveraging the parent company’s infrastructure. Furthermore, “our agility helped to tap the market where peers are struggling to ramp up volume after the first wave of Covid”.
A shortage of semiconductors, which had hampered Maruti Suzuki and other automakers’ domestic manufacturing, had no impact on the company’s exports, he added, because the component for exports was sourced from a different vendor.
Maruti Suzuki sells vehicles in nearly 100 countries. Last fiscal year, South Africa was the company’s biggest export market, followed by Chile, Egypt, the Philippines, and Columbia. Bharti stated that the best practices it implements in India have also performed effectively in other growing markets.
Maruti realised Rs 5.24 lakh per car on export in the first quarter of FY23, slightly less than the Rs 5.40 lakh it made per vehicle on overall sales. The export value was the highest for a quarter ever at Rs 3,600 crore, with 69,437 units shipped.