Maruti to raise output to 1.5 mn units by 2015

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki on Tuesday said it plans to have an output of 15 lakh (1.5 million) units by 2015 to maintain its 50 per cent market share in the Indian car market.

"By 2015 when the Indian car market is expected to become a 3 million units mark, we expect to maintain 50 per cent market share which means will have an output of 1.5 million units annually," Maruti Suzuki India managing director Shinzo Nakanishi told reporters at the 10th Auto Expo in Delhi.

The company expects its sales to grow by around 10 per cent in 2010. "On an annualised basis we have grown about 9.5-10 per cent in the last two years. We expect the same rate of growth in the calendar year 2010," he said.

So far this fiscal, Maruti Suzuki sold 7.31 lakh (731,000) units, while in 2008-09 they had sold about 7.92 lakh (792,000) units.

Maruti Suzuki, which unveiled a small multi-purpose concept vehicle (MPV) 'rIII' at the Auto Expo, said it wants to increase capacity at its Manesar plant to meet demand. The company's Manesar plant has a capacity of 300,000 units.

"My desire is to have an additional 300,000 capacity at Manesar," Nakanishi said.

The company's board will be meeting at the end of this month to decide on its future expansion plans.

The car maker said it hopes to export 130,000-140,000 units of cars this fiscal which will remain almost the same in the next fiscal.