India’s largest carmaker – Maruti Suzuki – has just got a boost in car production. Suzuki has started manufacturing cars at Plant C of its Gujarat manufacturing hub. The new line, which can make up to 2.5 lakh cars per annum, currently produces the Dzire sedan. Working at full capacity alongside Plant A and B, the Suzuki Motor Gujarat Pvt. Ltd. (SMGPL) can manufacture up to 7.5 lakh cars every year.

Suzuki foresaw the potential of the Indian automobile market and hence established SMGPL in March 2014. Plant A went operational in February 2017, while Plant B commenced making cars in January 2019. Presently, the former makes the Baleno, and the latter produces the Swift. Those production lines can each manufacture up to 2.5 lakh cars per year. Do the math, and SMGPL can supply up to 7.5 lakh cars to Maruti Suzuki to sell in twelve months.

In October 2020, SMGPL became the fastest production site for Suzuki to breach past 10 lakh units. With Maruti Suzuki’s production capacity of 15 lakh units, Suzuki’s manufacturing capacity has risen to 22.5 lakh units. To date, SMGPL has received a total investment of Rs 12,680 crore. The manufacturing hub in Gujarat produced 3.46 lakh units in 2020 alone.

Besides rolling out cars, the facility in Gujarat also makes engines and transmissions. In the powertrain plant, SMGPL can produce up to 5 lakh units of the 1.2-litre petrol engine and 5-speed manual/AGS (Auto Gear Shift, a.k.a Automated Manual Transmission) gearboxes, each. Their combinations, i.e. engine and transmission, find a place in several Maruti Suzuki models, including the three models mentioned above.

Models, such as Wagon R, Alto, Vitara Brezza, Ciaz and Ertiga, are put together in Maruti Suzuki’s Haryana plants. One of them is located in Gurugram, and one in Manesar. Other powertrains, which comprise a 1.5-litre petrol engine and a 4-speed automatic (torque converter), are manufactured at these facilities. Smaller Maruti Suzukis feature 1.0-litre engines, which are also made in-house.