Suzuki Motor Corporation (SUZUKI) has held a cornerstone laying ceremony in India for a plant for electric vehicle (EV) batteries and a new vehicle plant. The cornerstone laying ceremony was held at the Mahatma Mandir International Convention Centre to commemorate SUZUKI’s 40th anniversary of its Indian business.
The ceremony was attended by Indian Prime Minister Modi, Gujarat Chief Minister Patel, and Ambassador of Japan to India Suzuki, while Haryana Chief Minister Khattar and Maruti Suzuki’s Executive Vice Chairman Ayukawa attended online from the Kharkhoda construction site.
President Toshihiro Suzuki, Senior Advisor Osamu Suzuki, and Director and Senior Managing Officer Saito attended from SUZUKI, along with Chairman Bhargava and Managing Director Takeuchi from Maruti Suzuki.
The battery plant will be established by Suzuki Motor Gujarat Private Limited, a subsidiary of SUZUKI for automobile production in India, and the new automobile plant in Kharkhoda will be established by SUZUKI’s subsidiary in India, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (Maruti Suzuki).
The new battery plant will see an investment of approximately 73 billion Rupees and construction is expected to start soon with operations starting in 2026. The new automobile plant in Kharkhoda is scheduled to become operational sooner, with a start date of 2025. Production in the first year is expected to reach 250,000 units.
This expands and follows the news we brought you earlier this year that SUZUKI had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the State of Gujarat in India to manufactureelectric vehicles (EVs) and the batteries to power them. Suzuki said they plan a total investment of approximately 150 billion yen (104.4 billion rupees/$1.24 billion) to achieve this.
The plant is expected to develop a new mid-size electric crossover/SUV that will be will be derived from Toyota’s 40PL global platform. It will be sold as part of the Maruti brand in India and as a Toyotamodel for international markets.
By strengthening production capacity along with the growth of the Indian automobile market, SUZUKI will aim to provide diverse choices of mobility in India. This is an exciting time for both SUZUKI and India as it moves towards a more sustainable electric future.
