Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL), the largest passenger car maker in India, is planning to invest nearly Rs 15,000 crore over the next five years, to buy land in the country and to ramp up its dealership network.
"We have to double our network as the Gujarat plant output will lead to a gradual doubling of sales. The bulk of the investment required for additional sales will precede start of production at our Gujarat plant. The total money needed for creating additional sales-and-service infrastructure has been estimated to be Rs 30,000 crore. Of that, half the money will be invested by us, and the rest by dealers," Maruti Suzuki chairman R C Bhargava told Business Standard.
The total investment amount needed for ramping up the distribution and dealership network was nearly Rs 30,000 crore. Out of this, the company will be investing half of the money, and dealers will be putting in the other half. The company currently has nearly Rs 13,000 crore in reserves.
Currently, the popular hatchback maker has more than 1,700 dealership outlets in the country and it has recently set up a new dealership network, Nexa, to sell premium cars. The company has also partnered with Platinum Motocorp to expand dealership in tier-II cities.
Maruti Suzuki India, country’s largest car maker, has registered a rise of 29.10 per cent in its total car sales (domestic and export) for the month of October 2015 at 134,209 units, as against 103,973 units in 2014. The company’s domestic sales rose by 24.7 per cent in October 2015 at 121,063 units, as against 97,069 units in corresponding month last year.
BW Reporters
The author is Senior Correspondent with BW Businessworld
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