Maruti Suzuki India Limited: History, Share/Stock Price & News Updates

Written by Rayden Sam Posted on 2024-01-19

Maruti Suzuki India Limited, formerly Maruti Udyog Limited, is a New Delhi-based Indian car manufacturer.

About Maruti Suzuki: Maruti Suzuki was established in 1981 and was held by the Indian government until 2003 when Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan purchased it.

Maruti Suzuki has a market share of 44.2 percent of the Indian passenger car market as of February 2022. Suzuki Motor Corporation was a small partner when Maruti Udyog Limited was first established by the Government of India on January 24, 1981.

However, in August 2021, Suzuki became the official JV partner and license holder, replacing Maruti Udyog Limited. In the same year, Maruti opened its first manufacturing facility in Gurugram, Haryana.

A license and joint venture agreement (JVA) were signed by Suzuki of Japan and Maruti Udyog Ltd. in 1982.

Growth Maruti Suzuki

Initially, Maruti Suzuki was primarily an automobile importer. In the first two years of India’s closed market, Maruti was granted permission to import two completely assembled Suzuki vehicles, and even then, the initial target was to employ only 33% of domestic components.

This greatly displeased the nearby manufacturers. There were some worries that the Indian market wouldn’t support Maruti Suzuki’s relatively high production levels, and the government even considered changing the petrol tariff and decreasing the excise fee to increase sales.

With the release of the SS30/SS40 Suzuki Fronte/Alto-based Maruti 800 in December 1983, local production got underway.

Development Maruti Suzuki

The Maruti Van, which used the same three-cylinder engine as the 800, was introduced in 1984, and the Gurgaon plant’s installed capacity increased to 40,000 vehicles.

The Suzuki SJ410-based Gypsy, a 970 cc 4-wheel drive off-road vehicle, was introduced in 1985. The 100,000th car manufactured by the firm was the 796 cc hatchback Suzuki Alto (SS80), which succeeded the original 800 in 1986.

The business began exporting to Western markets in 1987 when a shipment of 500 automobiles was transported to Hungary. The Gurgaon plant’s capacity was raised to 100,000 units annually by 1988.

History Maruti Suzuki

Up until Suzuki Motor Corporation acquired the controlling stake, the joint venture’s relationship between the Government of India, which is represented by the United Front (India) coalition, and Suzuki Motor Corporation sparked a contentious debate in the Indian media.

The underlying cause of most problems was this very successful joint company, which had a near monopoly trade in the Indian vehicle industry due to the structure of the partnership established up until then.

Suzuki increased its share from 26% to 40% in 1987, to 50% in 1992, and finally to 56.21% as of 2013. This was due to the joint venture’s performance.

The venture partners agreed in 1982 to nominate their respective candidates for the position of managing director, and each managing director would have a five-year term.