Pune: Suzuki Motor Corp, the Japanese giant car maker, will set up a new global research and development company in the country and continue to invest aggressively to continue to be the dominant player in the car market.
“This new company, a wholly owned unit of Suzuki Japan, would help the Japanese carmaker strengthen its R&D competitiveness and capabilities not only for India but also for global markets,” said Toshihiro Suzuki, president, Suzuki Motor Corp, on Sunday at an event in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
“India has become one of the most important countries for Suzuki Group,” he stressed at the event attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, adding that Suzuki would keep investing in India.
Commemorating 40 years of Suzuki in India, Modi laid the foundation stones of two major projects—a Suzuki electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility in Gujarat and a Maruti Suzuki car-making facility in Haryana.
Suzuki is the majority owner of Maruti Suzuki, which sells one out of two cars bought in the country.
However, the company faces growing competition as buyers shift to bigger cars such as SUVs and regulators demand safer and greener cars, pushing up costs.
For Suzuki, India is one of the biggest markets in terms of revenues and profit and one where it has so far invested Rs 65,000 crore to support Maruti and its leadership position.
Suzuki underlined the importance of India, saying that more than 60 per cent (16 lakh units) of Suzuki Group's 28 lakh cars produced globally last year were made in India.
In March, the Japanese carmaker said it plans to invest Rs 10,440 crore in its India factory to produce electric vehicles from 2025 and batteries a year later. The plant has an annual capacity of 750,000 cars.
