Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), India’s largest car manufacturer, reported that it delivered its millionth car to Denmark on 30th April 2012. The vehicle which was provided with this title was non other than Maruti’s one of the bestsellers A-star, a hatchback. This red coloured vehicle crossed the boundary of Mundra coast with 2,200 other cars, which were scheduled to be delivered at other international destinations, such as Switzerland, Malta, Sweden in Europe and Algeria, Egypt and Morocco.
On this success, Shinzo Nakanishi, Managing Director and CEO, MSIL, said, “A million cars in overseas markets is a significant milestone for us. Two years back, Europe was a strong destination for us. We have aligned our exports strategy in line with the changed scenario in exports market. The market for us has shifted significantly from Europe to non-European countries. While the A-star, marketed under ‘Suzuki Alto’ and ‘Suzuki Celerio’ badge in international markets was doing well, we also worked on identifying alternate non European markets. This strategy worked in our favour and helped us retain our export numbers after European nations withdrew the scrappage incentives. We are happy that cars manufactured at Maruti Suzuki India have found good customer acceptance in overseas markets.”
With the consignment shipped to Algeria on 30th April, the region also emerged as a milestone for the company in which MSIL exported over 100,000 vehicles. The consignment delivered on 30th April incorporates more than 1500 vehicles for Algeria. In fiscal 2009, the overall exports made by MSIL were more than 1.47 lac units, wherein around 75 per cent were accounted for European market. By the fiscal 2011, the proportion of non-EU exports surged from 23 per cent to 66 per cent. The top 5 European Union (EU) markets are Netherlands, Italy, United Kingdom, France and Germany, whereas the top 5 non-EU markets are Algeria, Chile, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Nepal.
On the other hand, the company has now eyed new auto markets, which includes ASEAN region, to expand its existence throughout the world. Globally, millions of Maruti Suzuki vehicles are gliding on roads of more than 125 countries among five continents. Fascinatingly, A-star emerged as the most developing vehicle in oversees market. After its first consignment in January 2009, within tenure of 38 months the car recorded exports of more than 300,000 vehicles. A-star has more than 136 variants and is delivered to more than 100 countries throughout the globe. Considering cumulative sales, the success of A-star is followed by Alto with exports of more than 250,000 vehicles and then comes Maruti 800 at 226,000 vehicles.
