Suzuki Motor Gujarat (SMG), a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation, has announced that it has clocked 1 million production units. On October 21, SMG hit the prestigious milestone of producing 1 million cars at its facility near Ahmedabad in Gujarat which makes it the fastest Suzuki facility all over the world to attain this honour.
SMG manufactures cars on a contractual basis for Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., the Indian wing of the Japanese auto major as well as Toyota. The manufacturer managed to attain this landmark just within three years and nine months of operational activity began back in February 2017.
The first vehicle to roll-out of this facility was Maruti Suzuki Baleno which was followed by Swift with its first unit rolling out in January 2018. Swift was previously manufactured at the Maruti’s plant in Manesar, Haryana before being shifted to the Hansalpur based Gujarat factory for exclusive production. By March 2018, this facility had also started exporting manufactured cars to various overseas markets.
Maruti Suzuki India and Suzuki Gujarat together produced 15.8 lakh cars in 2019. Of this, 4.1 lakh cars were produced at the Suzuki Gujarat plant. The cars manufactured in India by Suzuki are sold in domestic market by Maruti as well as Toyota. They are also exported by both. Toyota sells Baleno in India as Glanza, while exports it as Starlet.
In January 2019, SMG expanded and installed its second facility, Plant B along with a Powertrain Plant at the same production site keeping the rising demand from domestic and overseas markets in mind. Suzuki has continued with its production activities at SMG to meet consumer needs and taking preventive measures against Covid-19.
The facility situated just out of Ahmedabad has a strength of 1,800 employees and has a collective annual manufacturing capacity of five lakh units. The company is also looking to set up a third facility at the site that will extend capacity by 2.5 lakh units. The proposed investment in this case is approximated around Rs 3800 crore.
Baleno is exclusively manufactured in India for the world in line with the Government of India’s ‘Make In India’ initiative. Baleno is retailed through Maruti’s premium dealership network- Nexa in India. It is also sold via Toyota dealers as Glanza.
Baleno in India is powered by a 1.2-litre K-Series naturally aspirated petrol engine which kicks out 83 PS of power and 113 Nm of peak torque. It also comes with a mild-hybrid tech which enhances power by 3 PS. This unit is mated to either a 5-speed manual or a CVT gearbox. It is retailed at a price range between Rs 5.63 lakh and Rs 8.96 lakh (both prices are ex-showroom).