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Japanese auto major Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) on Wednesday said it will launch 8 new sports utility vehicles (SUVs) in India over the next five-six years to have a total products line-up of 28 models by then. Speaking at a media roundtable along the Japan Mobility Show 2025 in Tokyo, Toshihiro Suzuki, President, SMC noted that Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) will target a market share of 50 per cent by FY31 and that achieving it will be the toughest in the next five years as compared to its 40 plus years of operations in India. The company’s market share in India has been dwindling since last few years due to competitions from other mass market players such as Hyundai Motor India, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, and even some European carmakers. MSIL had a market share of around 52 per cent in the Indian passenger vehicles market in 2021, which declined to 43.80 per cent in 2022 and it further declined to around 40 per cent right now because of the steep competition. Most critical markets Suzuki said India is one of the most critical markets for SMC in the world, and has a strategy that spans over the next five years till FY31. The strategy broadly involves an investment of ¥1.2 trillion or about ₹70,000 crore towards additional capacity and to reach a market share of 50 per cent. MSIL hopes to achieve this with the launch of eight new SUVs. “From entry level cars for the first time buyers to large SUVs and MPVs (multi-purpose vehicle) for higher income customers, we will work on variety of products to reach the next billion people,” said Suzuki. Besides the domestic market, Maruti Suzuki also aims to enhance its exports from India. With the exports of the e-Vitara SUV begun, the company expects to reach an export volume of four-lakh units this fiscal, from the 3.3 lakh units in FY25. “Owing to start of shipments to Europe and Japan, we expect this number to reach 400,000 units this fiscal,” Suzuki said adding that with the passage of India-EU FTA, India could also emerge as an export hub for European nations. With global mobility landscape rapidly transitioning towards environmentally friendly vehicles, SMC has a strong vision on carbon neutrality. Within the purview of regulatory requirements and carbon neutrality goals of each country SMC operates in, it aims to bring appropriate carbon neutral technologies. The company considers having only BEVs (battery electric vehicles) alone might not be practical and so has adopted a ‘multi-pathway’ strategy. This strategy includes developing and marketing vehicles that will be based on diverse powertrains such as hybrids, flex-fuel, hydrogen and CBG (compressed biogas), apart from pure EVs. The CBG-based Victoris SUV and Access scooter and the flex-fuel based Fronx, showcased at the Japan Mobility Show are in alignment with this strategy. SMC is betting big on CBG in India as it plans to establish nine biogas plants in Gujarat by 2027. It will develop the plants together with India’s dairy cooperatives like Banas, Amul and National Dairy Development Board.Besides the strategy on carbon neutrality, SMC has a technology strategy that largely involves body weight optimised for safety and performance, fuel efficient internal combustion engines and lean weight batteries for hybrids and BEVs – all geared to bring about minimisation of energy consumed. (The writers are in Tokyo on the invitation of Maruti Suzuki and Honda Cars India, respectively). Published on October 29, 2025
