Suzuki Motor to invest ₹70,000 crore in India over next six years: Toshihiro Suzuki

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flags off Maruti Suzuki’s first electric vehicle e-Vitara from Hansalpur manufacturing facility, Gujarat
| Photo Credit:
@Narendra Modi/YT via PTI Photo

Suzuki Motor Corporation on Tuesday said it will invest ₹70,000 crore in India for the next six years, which will include ₹3,200 crore in setting up a dedicated line for manufacturing EVs at the company’s sprawling car manufacturing complex at Hansalpur, located about 90 kilometres from Ahmedabad.

This new dedicated line for EVs, with a capacity of 2.5 lakh cars per annum, will increase the cumulative car production capacity of Suzuki Motor Gujarat Private Ltd (SMG) — a 100 per cent subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation — at Hansalpur to 10 lakh units per annum. This new production line will also make the Gujarat facility a global production hub for the e-Vitara model. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday flagged off the newly produced Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) from the Suzuki facility, which currently produces Baleno, Fronx and Swift cars on three existing production lines.

“This Gujarat facility, serving customers across India and global markets will shortly become one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturing hubs, with a planned capacity of one million units. Further, we chose this facility to manufacture the e -Vitara, our first BEV and make it a global production hub for this model. We will export this “Made-in-India BEV” to over 100 countries, including Japan and Europe,” said Toshihiro Suzuki, Representative Director & President, Suzuki Motor Corporation, while speaking at an event held at the company’s facility at Hansalpur.

Suzuki chief: Hansalpur to be global hub for e-Vitara exports

The e-Vitara, flagged off by PM Modi, was manufactured on the third production line at the plant, officials said. “We have so far invested Rs 21000 crore in our car plant (at Hansalpur) and we are planning to invest an additional Rs 3200 crore in setting up the fourth line,” Rahul Bharti, senior executive officer, Maruti Suzuki, later told mediapersons. The first production line at the manufacturing facility was inaugurated in 2017, while the second and third lines were inaugurated in 2019 and 2021, respectively. “We have a business plan to export to more than 100 countries. We will provide as per the demand in these countries. The new line — the fourth line of the plant — has a capacity to manufacture 2.5 lakh cars annually”, he said, adding that the e-Vitara will be launched in the Indian market during the current financial year.

Maruti Suzuki began exporting vehicles from India in 1986. The first large consignment of 500 cars was shipped to Hungary in September 1987. The company reached the one millionth milestone in vehicle exports in FY13, followed by the next million in less than 9 years, in FY21. The company officials stated that ₹35,000 crore worth of investments have flowed into the region in Gujarat through Suzuki Motors’ car production ecosystem. This includes 100 component manufacturers.

 Plant expansion 

A second project featured at the event on Tuesday was the ₹4,200 crore Lithium-ion battery and cell manufacturing project, TDSG, located in proximity to the Maruti Suzuki plant. Talking about the joint-venture project, Toshihiro Suzuki said during the event, “Our second major milestone is the start of production of India’s first Lithium-ion battery and cell with electrode -level localisation, which are used in our hybrid vehicles. These are being manufactured at the Toshiba-Denso-Suzuki plant here. With only raw material and some semiconductor parts coming from Japan, this is a big salute to Atmanirbhar Bharat. We will use a multi-powertrain strategy, including Electric, Strong Hybrid, ethanol flex fuel, and compressed biogas, to achieve carbon neutrality and climate change goals. Suzuki will invest over 70 thousand crore rupees in India, over the next 5 to 6 years.”

Talking about the “deep-level localisation achieved at the TDSG plant, the official said, “There are a number of companies which manufacture batteries in India. But they import the cell. TDSG had started cell manufacturing four years ago. We have started electrode manufacturing which includes cathodes and anodes.”

Maruti Suzuki’s export legacy and Gujarat’s auto ecosystem

Speaking at the event, Prime Minister Modi said that foundations for the Hansalpur unit of Suzuki Motors were laid 13 years ago, when land was allotted to Maruti Suzuki in 2012, when Modi was at the helm in Gujarat. “ Today you can see Suzuki Japan is manufacturing in Bharat, and the cars made here are being exported back to Japan. This not only reflects the strength of Bharat-Japan relations but also the trust that global companies have in Bharat. In a way, companies like Maruti Suzuki have become brand ambassadors of Make in India. For the past 4 consecutive years, Maruti has been Bharat’s largest car exporter. From today, EV exports will also begin on the same scale,” Modi said.

“During my visit to Singapore last year, I had said, we can convert our old vehicles, our old ambulances, into hybrid EVs. Maruti Suzuki accepted this challenge and, in just 6 months, developed a working prototype. I just saw this prototype of the hybrid ambulance myself. These hybrid ambulances perfectly fit into the PM E-DRIVE scheme. In this scheme of about 11,000 crore rupees, a dedicated budget has also been set aside for e-ambulances. Hybrid EVs will reduce pollution and also provide an option to transform old vehicles,” Modi added.

Talking about his upcoming visit to Japan, Modi said, “I am going to Japan next week. The relationship between India and Japan is beyond just diplomatic relations; it is a cultural and trust based relationship. We see our progress in each other’s progress. The journey we started with Maruti Suzuki has now reached the speed of a bullet train.”

Published on August 26, 2025