Maruti Suzuki mulling Manesar plant's capacity expansion by 1 lakh units by April 2024

To meet the increased demand before its Sonipat facility opens its doors in 2025, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) may raise the manufacturing capacity of its Manesar factory by one lakh units, a senior company official said. To meet the growing demand for its products, the nation's largest automaker may consider increasing the manufacturing facility's production capacity in Gurugram. The combined annual production capacity of MSI's Manesar and Gurugram plants is 15 lakh units. Additionally, it has access to 7.5 lakh units through Gujarat-based Suzuki Motor, the company's parent.

The company has already commenced work at the new facility in Kharkhoda in Haryana. The plant is expected to be operational by 2025, with an installed production capacity of 2.5 lakh units in the first phase. "As of now, we have about 22.5 lakh capacity in Haryana plus Gujarat...And in times to come, we are in process of working on the Kharkhoda plant, which will be up and running in the year 2025.

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"And if required, I think most likely we might have to add about one lakh capacity on a short-term basis in Manesar to meet intermediate demand," MSI Executive Director (Corporate Planning and Government Affairs) Rahul Bharti said in an analyst call.

The additional one lakh unit per annum capacity at Manesar may come by April 2024 and Kharkhoda in the subsequent year, he added. MSI currently rolls out models like Ertiga, XL6, and Eeco from the Gurugram plant and models like Alto, S-Presso, Celerio, Brezza, and Dzire from the Manesar facility.

When asked if MSI is looking to increase capacity at the Manesar plant to reduce manufacturing footprint at the Gurugram facility, the company's oldest plant, Bharti said: "We are not looking at any kind of reduction in Gurugram, in fact, at least in the shorter term, we might have to increase production in Gurugram."

On the upcoming plant at Kharkhoda in Sonipat, he said, "Our first plant (first phase) should be commissioned by the first quarter of calendar 2025. And I think we already have to start thinking about a second plant if demand growth continues in India." The company plans to invest Rs 11,000 crore in the first phase of the Sonipat facility. MSI plans to invest over Rs 7,000 crore this year on various initiatives, including the construction work of the new plant in Haryana and new model launches.

Having achieved success with both Brezza and Grand Vitara, the company's pending customer order list has soared to about 4.12 lakh units at the end of September. An increase in production would help the company reduce the order backlog. With a strong position in the hatchback, sedan, and multi-purpose vehicle segments, the automaker is now looking to consolidate its position in the fast-selling SUV segment.

With inputs from PTI