Country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India may advance commissioning of its second phase of capacity expansion at Gujarat plant, owing to enhanced demand for its products.
The first phase of the plant with a capacity of 2.5 lakh units is expected to become operational by early next year.
The second phase of same capacity may now come up by 2019 as the company faces long waiting period of products like Vitara Brezza and Baleno.
“We may look at advancing the second manufacturing phase in Gujarat,” MSI Chairman R S Bhargava told reporters here on the sidelines of 56th Annual Session of ACMA.
The Gujarat plant will have a production capacity of 2.5 lakh units in the first, second and third phase each. The production capacity could be ramped up to 15 lakh units going ahead.
Currently, the company’s production capacity from its two plants at Gurgaon and Manesar stands at 15 lakh units.
Maruti has set a target of producing and selling over 20 lakh units by 2020, and in order to achieve the goal, the company will need more capacity.
On sales expectations in the festive season, Bhargava said: “We expect over 10 per cent sales growth during the year and if the sales are little better than this during the festive season, I would not be surprised.”
He added that the impact of good monsoon would come after 3-4 months when the harvest is sold in rural areas.
On manufacturing quality, Bhargava said: “Can we really say that the Indian manufacturing today is anywhere close to best global standards. Answer is very clear that we still have some distance to cover before we can say that in terms of quality, we are of global standards.”
He exemplified Japan, whose products at one point of time were considered shoddy but the situation reversed later.
“But whether it is Japan, Korea or China, they all over a period of couple of decades changed their image,” he said.