Maruti Suzuki, India's largest car company: production will double to nearly 4 million vehicles by 2031

CTOnews.com, August 6 (Xinhua) India's largest car company, Maruti Suzuki, released its latest annual report on the 5th local time, revealing the company's long-term goal: by launching new models and expanding exports, annual production is expected to double to nearly 4 million vehicles in 2031.

In addition, Maruti Suzuki will meet its overseas sales target of 800000 vehicles this fiscal year, a threefold increase from previous years.

Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki, said in a shareholder speech that domestic demand, coupled with export demand, had made it necessary for the company to increase production capacity by an additional 2 million vehicles and would build a car plant in northern India with an annual capacity of 1 million vehicles.

As for the electrification transition, the company says production at its current plant in the western Indian state of Gujarat is progressing smoothly and expects to sell its first all-electric model in 2024-2025 and six in 2030-2031.

CTOnews.com previously reported that Maruti Suzuki CEO advised the Indian government in July last year to support "green" car technology other than electric vehicles, such as hybrid power, because "it's good for the country as a whole".

The move comes after Maruti Suzuki launched its first "powerful" hybrid car, the Grand Vitara SUV, in India, which is expected to help the company regain market share in India, which has been lost to competitors such as Hyundai and Kia. India levies a tax rate of 43 per cent on hybrid vehicles, while only 5 per cent on pure electric vehicles.

However, the situation has changed a little by 2023, with the tax rate on hybrid cars reaching 29% as of the first half of this year, while the tax rate on pure electric models is still 5%.