Maruti Suzuki rolls out 10 millionth car

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) today rolled out its 10 millionth car from its Gurgaon plant, thus joining a select club of global car makers to achieve the feat.

The company, which started operations in 1983 (then Maruti Udyog Ltd) as a joint venture between Indian government and Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp (SMC), rolled out a metallic breeze blue coloured WagonR VXi as its 1 crore (10 millionth) car.

"As we reach this historic landmark, we thank our founding partners who laid a solid foundation of values and practices," MSI Managing Director and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi said in a statement.

MSI had earlier planned to celebrate the occasion but decided against it, following the tragedy in Japan due to the earthquake and tsunami last week.

"With this landmark achievement, Maruti Suzuki becomes the only Indian car company that makes its entry into the select club of automobile manufacturers across the globe who have crossed this milestone," the company said.

MSI joins global majors like Toyota, General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen, Renault, Honda an its own parent SMC who have already achieved the feat in the past.

Nakanishi said MSI had picked up momentum in the recent times and manufactured around 5 million units in the last six years.

Starting with the handing over to the first Maruti 800 to the first customer in December 1983, MSI produced the first millionth car in 1994. The cumulative production reached 2 million in 1997. The next big landmark of 5 million was reached in April, 2005, almost 22 years after the first car was rolled out.

MSI currently offers a wide range of 16 passenger vehicle models in India. It is the largest car maker, with over 45 per cent share in India's passenger vehicle market.

The company has also grown consistently over the years. During 2009-10, it posted revenue of Rs 30,119.7 crore. The revenue was Rs 20,358.3 crore in 2008-09, up from Rs 17,860.3 crore in 2007-08.

At present MSI produces 12 lakh cars annually from its two plants at Gurgaon and Manesar. It is setting up two new units at Manesar, which will bring in an additional annual capacity of 5 lakh units.

Once these new facilities are in place by 2013, it will have a capacity to manufacture over 17 lakh units annually.