India Has the Potential to Be the World’s No. 1 Car Market, Says the President of Suzuki
Image credit: Deccan Herald
According to Toshihiro Suzuki, “President and Representative Director of Suzuki Motor Corporation,” India may soon surpass the United States as the world’s largest market for automobiles.
He said that the company would investigate further technologies, such as flex fuels, hybrids, and CNG, to see if they may aid India in becoming carbon neutral, in a conversation with the media on the sidelines of the Auto Expo 2023 in this city. Suzuki also pointed out that, despite the growing relevance of car safety issues, it is still essential to correctly follow fundamental traffic laws and to provide a suitable infrastructure to ensure road safety.
With sales of over 42.5 lakh units, India surpassed Japan in 2022 and became the third-largest automobile market in the world after China and the US. In response to the recent dip in small car sales, Suzuki remarked, “I think, in India, compact cars still come into the key category.”
Little automobiles in India have “the potential to do well in the future” due to the low car consumption rate compared to the country’s total population. He mentioned how India outpaced other countries in the telecom sector to adopt mobile phones and predicted that the same would happen in the auto industry.
Suzuki acknowledged that Maruti Suzuki had lost market share as a result of the delay in introducing SUVs to the Indian market. The business would introduce new models in the segment to reclaim its 50% share of the market for passenger vehicles.
He added, “We are taking the very same initiative here in the Indian market as well.” Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) has been strong in Japan with its small automobiles, “catering to the needs of the Japanese people.” “We’ll be delivering goods that satisfy the needs of the regional customers.”
He continued, “The group would like to talk with the Indian government to be able to supply the right technologies in the movement towards carbon neutrality.” In response to the question of how important the Indian activities were to SMC, he stated, “India is important to us, not just for local sales but also for export sales.” It has doubled over the past five years and surpassed 2.3 lakh (units) in the most recent fiscal year.
In addition, Suzuki noted that Maruti Suzuki’s current 60 percent share of SMC’s global business could rise higher in the future. When questioned about the future, he responded that it was impossible to say because of the continued global economic crisis and the conflict in Ukraine, which contributed to the increase in energy and commodity prices.
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