Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Suzuki To Make Compact, Low-Emissions Hatchback In India Geared For Global Export

Beginning next October, Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corp. plans to make a new compact hatchback in India that will be sold all over the world, the company's chairman said Tuesday.

The plan is part of Suzuki's efforts to make India an export hub. It also is intended to keep Suzuki Motor Corp.'s majority share of the Indian car market as competition mounts in the coming years.

"Our next world car will be made in India," Chairman Osamu Suzuki told reporters in New Delhi. "We are going to commence production after autumn 2008."

The one-liter gasoline engine car will not only comply with the most stringent pollution control rules but also keep carbon emissions lower than those of its European competitors, Suzuki said.

It will come with a "very attractive" price tag, the company said without giving details.

Suzuki holds a controlling 54 percent stake in Maruti Suzuki Ltd., India's largest car maker, which is expanding its factory in the northern Indian town of Manesar to prepare for production.

"In a year or year and half, we would have tripled production at the Manesar plant to 300,000 units," said Jagdish Khattar, managing director at Maruti Suzuki.

About 150,000 units of the new car will be manufactured annually at the Manesar plant, Suzuki said. A third of this will be exported, while the rest will be sold in India, he said.

The new car — code named A-Star — is part of Maruti Suzuki's ongoing efforts to protect its market share in India, which stood at 54 percent last year.

The company plans to invest 200 billion yen (US$1.8 billion, €1.22 billion) between 2007 and 2009 to increase capacity, bring new models and shift manufacturing of more engines to India.

The car is the first model that has involved designers from Maruti Suzuki's research and development division in India from its initial stage of its styling, a company statement said.

Suzuki said the company wants to further strengthen its research and development work in India.

Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/11/business/AS-FIN-COM-India-Suzuki.php

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