Suzuki mulls moving small-car design to India

As part of its long term strategy, Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) is considering moving out its small-car design centre to India. However, at present, no time line has been charted out.

The Japanese giant is already investing Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 crore in its research and development (R&D) centre in India. Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) will roll out a car completely made in India in the next three to four years, which will encompass all the major requirements, including design and engineering architecture, engine development, and the manufacturing process.

MSIL is aiming to double the number of engineers from 480 to 1,000 by 2010. Most of the Indian engineers are currently undergoing training at Suzuki's Japanese facility and will eventually be posted in India.

A senior executive of MSIL, when asked whether the company would shift its small-car design centre to India, said: "This could be a possibility in the future but the plan has not been finalised yet. After all, India is a booming small-car market and the styling and design of cars here is similar to the requirements of the European market."

Citing the A-Star's example, he said the car would makes its debut in India in the later part of FY09 and be exported to Europe.

I V Rao, managing executive officer (engineering), MSIL, said, "We are working towards a fully India-built car, the first from MSIL, for the world market in the next three or four years. We are currently putting the required infrastructure in place for all the new models."

Although the recently unveiled A-Star compact car owed its success to Indian engineers and designers, the car still had a large content of Japanese technology, he said. Similarly, the Swift hatchback, which is also called the world car, was developed with the help of Indian engineers based in Japan.

The company is currently sourcing expertise and guidance from SMC for various compact car and other projects. The dependence will be gradually reduced over the next few years when the company's Indian subsidiary will have fully-independent operations.

According to sources, the company is in the process of identifying land near its Manesar facility to set up the R&D unit. The unit will house various testing and simulation facilities in addition to a world class testing track.

The share of small cars in the Maruti portfolio in the future will remain the same as it has been in the previous years. "This has been the growth-driving segment and we would want it remain like that," Rao said. Of the current portfolio of 10 cars, more than half are small cars.