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Government of India: Chronology

Maruti Udyog Limited was established in 1981 as a joint venture between the Government of India and Suzuki Motor Corporation to produce affordable cars for the Indian market. Local production of the Maruti 800 began in 1983. Over the decades, Maruti launched many new models and worked to continually increase localization of its parts. It became a 50-50 joint venture between the Government of India and Suzuki in 1991 following economic liberalization. By the 2000s, Maruti had become the dominant car manufacturer in India with a majority market share. It announced plans to phase out diesel cars and launch its first electric vehicle in 2021.

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50 views3 pages

Government of India: Chronology

Maruti Udyog Limited was established in 1981 as a joint venture between the Government of India and Suzuki Motor Corporation to produce affordable cars for the Indian market. Local production of the Maruti 800 began in 1983. Over the decades, Maruti launched many new models and worked to continually increase localization of its parts. It became a 50-50 joint venture between the Government of India and Suzuki in 1991 following economic liberalization. By the 2000s, Maruti had become the dominant car manufacturer in India with a majority market share. It announced plans to phase out diesel cars and launch its first electric vehicle in 2021.

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amitmohanty49
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Maruti Udyog Limited was founded by the 

Government of India on 24 Feb 1981


with Suzuki Motor Corporation as a minor partner, only to become the formal JV
partner and license holder of Suzuki in August 2021. [9] The first manufacturing
factory of Maruti was established in Gurugram, Haryana, in the same year.[10]

Chronology[edit]
Affiliation with Suzuki

In 1982, a license and joint venture agreement (JVA) was signed between Maruti


Udyog Ltd., and Suzuki of Japan. At first, Maruti Suzuki was mainly an importer
of cars. In India's closed market, Maruti received the right to import 2 fully built-
up Suzuki in the first two years, and even after that, the early goal was to use only
33% indigenous parts. This upset the local manufacturers considerably. There were
also some concerns that the Indian market was too small to absorb the
comparatively large production planned by Maruti Suzuki, with the government
even considering adjusting the petrol tax and lowering the excise duty in order to
boost sales.[11] Local production commenced in December 1983 with the
introduction of the SS30/SS40 Suzuki Fronte/Alto-based Maruti 800.[12] In 1984,
the Maruti Van with the same three-cylinder engine as the 800 was released and
the installed capacity of the plant in Gurgaon reached 40,000 units.

In 1985, the Suzuki SJ410-based Gypsy, a 970 cc 4WD off-road vehicle, was


launched. In 1986, the original 800 was replaced by an all-new model of the 796 cc
hatchback Suzuki Alto (SS80) and the 100,000th vehicle was produced by the
company.[13] In 1987, the company started exporting to western markets, when a lot
of 500 cars were sent to Hungary. By 1988, the capacity of the Gurgaon plant was
increased to 100,000 units per annum.

Market liberalisation
In 1989, the Maruti 1000 was introduced and the 970 cc, three-box was India's first
contemporary sedan. By 1991, 65 percent of the components, for all vehicles
produced, were indigenized. After liberalization of the Indian economy in 1991,
Suzuki increased its stake in Maruti to 50 percent, making the company a 50-50
joint venture with the government of India as the other stake holder.

In 1993, the Zen, a 993 cc engined hatchback was launched and in 1994 the
1,298 cc Esteem sedan was introduced. Maruti produced its 1 millionth vehicle
since the commencement of production in 1994. Maruti's second plant was opened
with annual capacity reaching 200,000 units. Maruti launched a 24-hour
emergency on-road vehicle service. In 1998, the new Maruti 800 was released,
being the first change in design since 1986. Zen D, a 1,527 cc diesel hatchback,
and Maruti's first diesel vehicle, and a redesigned Omni were introduced. In 1999,
the 1.6-litre Maruti Baleno three-box sedan and Wagon R were also launched.

In 2000, Maruti became the first car company in India to launch a call center for
internal and customer services. The new Alto model was released. In 2001, Maruti
True Value, selling and buying used cars was launched. In October of the same
year the Maruti Versa was launched. In 2002, Esteem Diesel was introduced. Two
new subsidiaries were also started: Maruti Insurance Distributor Services and
Maruti Insurance Brokers Limited. Suzuki Motor Corporation increased its stake in
Maruti to 54.2 per cent.

In 2003, the new Suzuki Grand Vitara XL-7 was introduced while the Zen and the
Wagon R were upgraded and redesigned. The four millionth Maruti vehicle was
built and they entered into a partnership with the State Bank of India. Maruti
Udyog Ltd. was listed on BSE and NSE after a public issue, which was
oversubscribed tenfold. In 2004, the Alto became India's best selling car overtaking
the Maruti 800 after nearly two decades. The five-seater Versa 5-seater, a new
variant, was created while the Esteem was re-launched. Maruti Udyog closed the
financial year 2003–04 with an annual sale of 472,122 units, the highest ever since
the company began operations and the fiftieth lakh (5 millionth) car rolled out in
April 2005. The 1.3-litre Suzuki Swift five-door hatchback was introduced in
2005.[14]

In 2006 Suzuki and Maruti set up another joint venture, "Maruti Suzuki
Automobiles India", to build two new manufacturing plants, one for vehicles and
one for engines.[14] Cleaner cars were also introduced, with several new models
meeting the new Bharat Stage III emission standards.[14] In February 2012, Maruti
Suzuki sold its ten millionth vehicle in India. [12] In July 2014 it had a market share
of more 45%.[15] In May 2015, the company produced its fifteen millionth vehicle
in India, a Swift Dzire.[16]

On 25 April 2019, Maruti Suzuki announced that it would phase out production
of diesel cars by 1 April 2020, when the Bharat Stage VI emission standards come
into effect. The new standards would require a significant investment from the
company to upgrade its existing diesel engines to comply with the more stringent
emission standards. Chairman R.C. Bhargava stated, "We have taken this decision
so that in 2022 we are able to meet the corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFE)
norms and higher share of CNG vehicles will help us comply with the norms. I
hope the union government's policies will help grow the market for CNG
vehicles." Diesel cars accounted for about 23 percent of Maruti Suzuki's annual
sales.[17]

The company plans to launch its first electric car in the second half of 2021, the
Maruti Suzuki WagonR Electric[18] and a test mule of the same has been spotted
several times recently.

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