Maruti Suzuki India Limited, formerly known as Maruti Udyog Limited, is an automobile manufacturer in India. It is a subsidiary with 54.2% of the Japanese automobile and motorcycle manufacturer Suzuki Motor Corporation. As of January 2017, it had a market share of 51% of the Indian market for passenger cars. [9] Maruti Suzuki manufactures and sells popular cars such as Ciaz, Ertiga, Wagon R, Alto, Swift, Celerio, Swift Dzire and Omni. The company is based in New Delhi. In February 2012, the company sold its vehicle ten million (ten million = one crore) in India.
Maruti was established in February 1981, although actual production began only in 1983. It started with the Maruti 800, based on the Suzuki Alto kei car which at that time was the only modern car available in India. Its only competitors were Ambassador Hindustan and Prime Minister Padmini. Originally, 74% of the company was owned by the Indian government, and 26% by Suzuki of Japan. In May 2007, the Indian government sold its full share to Indian financial institutions and no longer holds any stake in Maruti Udyog.
In 1982, a license and Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) was signed between Maruti Udyog Ltd. and Suzuki of Japan. At first, Maruti Suzuki was primarily a car importer. In the closed market in India, Maruti was given the right to import 40,000 fully constructed Suzukis in the first two years, and even after that the initial goal was to use only 33% of the indigenous parts. This disturbs local manufacturers considerably. There were also some concerns that the Indian market was too small to absorb the comparatively large production planned by Maruti Suzuki, with the government even considering adjusting the gas tax and lowering excise duty to increase sales. Finally, in 1983, the Maruti 800 was released. This 796cc hatchback was based on the SS80 Suzuki Alto and was the first affordable car in India. The initial plan of the product was 40% of salons and 60% of Maruti Van. Local production began in December 1983. In 1984, the Maruti Van with the same three-cylinder engine as the 800 was launched and the plant's installed capacity in Gurgaon reached 40,000 units.
In 1985, the Gypsy Suzuki SJ410-based, a 970 cc 4WD off-road vehicle, was launched. In 1986, the original 800 was replaced by a totally new model of the 796 cc saloon Suzuki Alto and the 100,000 vehicle was produced by the company. In 1987, the company began exporting to the West, when a pile of 500 cars were shipped to Hungary. In 1988, the capacity of the Gurgaon plant was increased to 100,000 units per year.