 Everyone knows that the Indian economy is booming, the middle class is on a roll and nothing reflects this than the inspirational achievement of owning a car. Fuelling this line of thought was evident all through the last year as overall growth in the industry just zoomed into the red line of the rev zone. Every car maker worth his salt progressed big time but the one company which has led the industry now for the better part of two and a half decades was at the forefront of it all.
Maruti Suzuki gets mighty big dose of appreciation is on hand because for the first time in the annals of the Indian automotive industry, history of sorts is on the cards any time in this month. This centre around Maruti Suzuki surpassing the magical million mark in production and sales in one fiscal year! In February 2010, the company clocked sales of 96,650 units of which domestic sales stood at 84,765 units which was an improvement over the previous record set just a month earlier! Cumulative sales from April 2009 to February 2010 stand at 9,23,242 units (7,06,498 units in the corresponding period a year ago!) and by the third week of this month we could be looking at the firm selling its one millionth unit in this fiscal!
Who could have thought that a single Indian car maker would be attaining such heights? I doubt even if MUL itself - as the firm was known when it started out as a nationalized PSU in 1984 - dared to think so far aloud! While it may have taken the firm near to 26 years to set a million units milestone in a year, judging by the manner in which the firm has stepped on the gas, and also keeping in mind the dynamics of the global car market, I can just see the pyrotechnics in the offing as the two million units a year beckons, sooner than ever!
What started out as a maker of cars for the masses has now progressed to becoming one of the world's largest car makers and in fact for its Japanese parent it contributes more in terms of profits and units produced than its Japanese domestic operations! Today Maruti Suzuki is not just a maker of small cars but it has a varied portfolio which also encompasses compact sedans and SUVs while shortly it would be moving a step up in Honda / Toyota territory with the Kizashi executive saloon.
What is of even more significance is that while everyone thought the firm was good at localizing and doing as its Japanese parent scripted proceedings, a gradual understanding of the nuances of the global nature of the auto industry has now seen the firm add more muscle to its repertoire not just in areas of production engineering but also in design, development, testing, and what have you. The company has slowly built up critical mass in R&D and has also upgraded its knowledge base on diesel engine tech; two details which will see it emerge stronger in the coming years. In fact, the day isn't far off when a complete designed and built-from-the-ground-up car by Maruti Suzuki appears and that too within an 18-24 month period.
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