The Maruti Suzuki India Limited board has approved a proposal to purchase land in Mehsana district of Gujarat to set up manufacturing facilities. “We will buy 1,400 acres of land. Of this, 1,000 acres will be for us and the rest 400 acres will be for our vendors,” said Maruti Suzuki Chairman R C Bhargava without elaborating any further.
This purchase would be subject to final negotiations on price and all legal formalities being completed.
However, the company had said that it, along with their vendors, could invest up to Rs 18,000 crore, including Rs 6,000 crore from ancillary units, in Gujarat as it looks to produce about two million units in the long run in the state.
If the Gujarat proposal goes ahead, the production from the site in Gujarat is expected to start by 2015.
In the first phase, which will be completed by 2020, a capacity for one million units will be built. The next phase of expansion will follow.
| AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURING CAPACITIES IN GUJARAT | ||||||
| Company | Location | Installed Capacity (p.a) | Direct Employment | Investments (Rs) | Commissioning target | Area (in acre) |
| Tata Nano | Sanand | 250,000 | 2,400 | 2,000 | Operational | 1,000 |
| Ford India | Sanand | 240,000 | 5,000 | 4,000 | by 2014 | 500 |
| Peugeot | Sanand | 165,000 | 5,000 | 4,000 | by 2014 | 600 |
| General Motors | Halol | 110,000 | 2,200 | 2,900 | Operational | n.a. |
| Maruti | Mehsana, | 1,000,000 | n.a | 18,000 | Proposed | 1,000 |
| Atul Auto Ltd | Shapar, Rajkot | 24,000 | n.a | 52 | Operational | 22 |
| Bajaj Auto | Mundra, Kutchh | 5,00,000 | n.a | 1,000 | Proposed | 400 |
| Source: Companies | ||||||
