India’s Maruti sees passenger vehicle market rising to up to 6.3 million units by 2031

NEW DELHI, Aug 9 (Reuters) – India’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India expects the domestic passenger vehicle market to grow to 6.1 million-6.3 million units by fiscal year 2030-31, driven by a revival in demand for small cars and a stronger sport utility vehicle segment, Chairman R.C. Bhargava said.

Maruti is reassessing its five-year growth targets as it expects the small-car segment to expand significantly faster than in the past five years, the company said in a statement on Sunday, accompanying its 2025/26 annual report.

Key points:

• Maruti sold a record 2.42 million vehicles and exported an all-time high 447,000 units in FY26, and expects to reach its next million-unit sales milestone earlier than previously projected.

• The company plans to invest about 350 billion rupees ($4 billion) to raise annual production capacity to 3.65 million vehicles by FY31.

• Maruti’s board has approved an initial investment of 5.61 billion rupees to set up four biogas plants as part of its clean-energy strategy. Bhargava said biogas could reduce dependence on imported compressed natural gas and support India’s net-zero goals.

• Managing Director and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said Maruti plans to launch seven new SUVs over the next five to six years to strengthen its presence in the fast-growing segment.

• The company accelerated capacity expansion by adding 500,000 units of manufacturing capacity in FY27.

• Maruti is prioritising localisation, alternate sourcing and supplier capability development to mitigate geopolitical and supply-chain risks.

• Maruti said its relationship with parent Suzuki Motor Corp has become “closer and more integrated”, helping shorten vehicle development cycles and reduce costs.

(Reporting by Aditi Shah and Manoj Kumar; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)