Maruti Suzuki India plans to increase its use of Indian Railways to transport 35% of the vehicles manufactured across its factories over the next 7-8 years, as per MD and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi. The percentage of vehicle dispatches through railways rose to 21.5% in the 2023-24 fiscal year from 5% in 2014-15.
The carmaker’s vehicle dispatches through railways grew from 65,700 units in 2014-15 to 447,750 units in 2023-24. With the production capacity set to almost double from about 2 million units to 4 million units by FY 2030-31, the company aims to increase the use of railways in vehicle dispatches to around 35% over the next 7-8 years, Takeuchi stated. Maruti Suzuki has already sent out over 2 million units through Indian Railways, serving over 450 cities across 20 destinations.
Takeuchi mentioned that the company was the first in India to be granted the Automobile-Freight-Train-Operator license and has been consistently increasing its use of railways for vehicle dispatches.
He noted that the company’s green logistics efforts have resulted in a cumulative reduction of 10,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions and 270 million liters of fuel savings. The company is also committed to achieving the country’s net zero emissions target by 2070.
Earlier this year, under the PM Gati Shakti program, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the nation’s first automobile in-plant railway siding at Maruti Suzuki’s Gujarat facility, with a capacity to dispatch 300,000 vehicles per year.
The next in-plant railway siding is currently being developed at the company’s Manesar facility and will be operational soon, as stated by the automaker.