Maruti marks record rail dispatches in 2025, 18% jump over last yr

Rail accounted for about 26 per cent of the company's outbound vehicle dispatches in 2025, up from 23.5 per cent in 2024

Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) dispatched over 585,000 units by rail in 2025, marking its highest-ever rail movement, and an 18 per cent increase over the previous year.

 

The company said rail accounted for about 26 per cent of its outbound vehicle dispatches in 2025, up from 23.5 per cent in 2024, and a sharp rise from 5.1 per cent in 2016, helping cut carbon emissions, reduce oil consumption and ease congestion on highways.

 

MSIL Managing Director and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said 2025 was significant not just for volumes but also for milestones achieved in rail-based transportation. He pointed to the commissioning of India’s largest automobile in-plant railway siding at its Manesar facility and the dispatch of vehicles by rail to the Kashmir Valley via the Chenab rail bridge, the world’s highest railway arch bridge, a first for an automobile manufacturer.

 

Takeuchi said the company’s mid-term target is to raise the share of rail-based vehicle dispatches to 35 per cent by 2030-31 (FY31), aligning its logistics strategy with India’s net-zero carbon emissions target for 2070.

 

He added that MSIL has adopted a “circular mobility” approach to sustainability, aimed at reducing carbon emissions across the vehicle lifecycle, including design, manufacturing, logistics and end-of-life vehicle management.

 

MSIL has been among the earliest movers in using railways for finished vehicle transportation in India. It became the first carmaker to obtain an Automobile Freight Train Operator (AFTO) licence in 2013. Since FY15, the company has transported more than 2.8 million vehicles by rail from 22 dispatch points, supplying over 600 cities across the country through a hub-and-spoke model.

 

At present, Maruti Suzuki operates more than 45 flexi-deck rakes, each capable of carrying around 260 vehicles per trip, allowing it to move large volumes efficiently over long distances. The company said that in 2025, dispatches from its in-plant railway sidings at Gujarat and Manesar together accounted for 53 per cent of its total rail-based vehicle movements.

 

The expansion of rail logistics comes at a time when automakers are under growing pressure to lower their supply-chain emissions, even as vehicle volumes rise.

 

Calendar Year (CY)	Number of vehicles transported via rail by MSIL (in units)	Rail's share of total MSIL dispatches (%)
2016	77,000	5.1%
2017	100,000	5.8%
2018	146,000	7.9%
2019	172,000	10.7%
2020	173,000	12.9%
2021	222,000	13.9%
2022	320,000	17.1%
2023	422,000	21.0%
2024	496,000	23.5%
2025	585,000	26.0%