Suzuki to develop 2 global cars in India

New models likely to be bigger than the Swift.

Suzuki Motor Corporation plans to develop two new cars by 2007 to hold on to its leadership in the Indian car market.

"We want to maintain our 50 per cent share in India,'' Suzuki's president Hiroshi Tsuda today said in Hamamatsu, Japan, agencies reported. Tsuda also said: "We aim to release a model that is suitable in three main areas, the US, Europe and Asia, excluding Japan.''

The new models, Tsuda said, might be bigger than the Swift, Suzuki's existing global offering in the compact segment. Maruti, a 57 per cent Suzuki subsidiary, is expected to launch this car later this year.

According to sources in Maruti, the process of collaboration with Suzuki can start shortly to develop the two cars.

The announcement comes days after Hyundai announced it would put up a second line of production in India by 2007, raising its capacity to 400,000 cars per annum. This, the South Korean company said, would help it raise its market share from 17 per cent at present to 20 per cent.

Toyota, too, is known to have drawn up plans to launch its Daihatsu range of mini-cars in the country in 2008. India is the fourth-largest car market in Asia after Japan, South Korea and China.

"Every company needs to come out with new products regularly. Suzuki is Japan's leading small car maker. It can leverage this strength to increase its market share in India," said an automobile industry analyst.

Apart from the two new cars, Maruti is also working on a car it plans to launch in the country by 2007. This is the first instance of a car being totally built from scratch within the country.

Maruti Udyog has emerged as a key driver for SMC profits in the recent past. The company had contributed over a third of the net profit of Suzuki Motor Corporation for the July-September 2004 quarter, though it accounted for only a little more than a tenth of its Japanese parent's turnover.

Last year, SMC had also committed an investment of Rs 6,000 crore in the country along with Maruti Udyog Ltd for setting up a diesel engine plant and a new assembly line at Manesar in Haryana as well as refurbishing the company's existing production facility at Gurgaon.