Mumbai, Nov 3 (IANS) Automobile giant Maruti Suzuki Thursday said that its decision to buy land in Gujarat is based on the need to expand capacity for meeting future demand and that it was not holding back investments in its Haryana plants, which faced labour unrest recently.
‘The company clarifies that its investment plans for Haryana stay on course. These include installation of the 2.5 lakh capacity assembly line in Manesar,’ the auto giant said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
The company has two facilities in Haryana — at Gurgaon and Manesar — with a collective capacity to produce 1.2 million vehicles annually. The Manesar plant currently has two assembly lines.
According to the regulatory filing, Maruti Suzuki said it planned to purchase land in Gujrarat but the move should not be linked to recent labour issues at its Manesar plant.
‘The company’s plan to invest in Gujarat started much before the industrial unrest situation at Manesar,’ Maruti said.
The workers at the Manesar plant — which produces some 1,200 vehicles a day on an average — have struck work thrice this year, demanding better working conditions and reinstatement of some of their colleagues suspended for earlier strikes.
The latest strike lasted a fortnight and ended Oct 21.
Apart from the Manesar plant, the company said its investment plans for a research and development (R&D) centre and test course in Rohtak, Haryana, are also on track.
‘The company has lined up a direct investment of over Rs.3,400 crore towards these facilities,’ the filing said.
Maruti Suzuki added that Gujarat-based location will provide logistical advantage in transportation of vehicles to western and southern Indian markets, as well as exports.
‘The logistics for reaching the finished cars to the large domestic markets in west and south India and the close proximity of the Mundra port for future exports, played an important role in the decision,’ the filing added.
A subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Co of Japan, the $8 billion Maruti Suzuki India is India’s largest passenger car producer, offering 14 sub-brands and over 150 variants, including the Maruti 800 small car.
The company is among many automobile firms headed to Gujarat, including Ford, PSA Peugeot Citroen and supply chain vendors.
Gujarat already hosts the Tata Nano plant in Sanand area of Ahmedabad district.
Incidentally, the Narendra Modi government offered land to the Tatas after their land acquisition for the Nano plant in Singur, West Bengal, triggered off large scale protests.
