Maruti likely to build fresh capacity at Maneswar

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, which makes about half the cars sold in the country, said on Thursday that it is likely to build a third production unit at its Maneswar facility near Delhi to meet increasing demand, after economic growth caused industry-wide car sales to jump more than 30 per cent this year.

The proposed new unit will have a capacity of 2.5 lakh units annually, with a proposed investment of Rs1,700 crore, Maruti Suzuki India chairman R C Bhargava said on the sidelines of a Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) meet in New Delhi.

"We are preparing a project report for the third unit in Manesar, which will come up for discussion before of the board. The project report is expected to be completed soon," Bhargava said.

He, however, did not specify any time frame. He also declined to comment on whether the matter stood a chance of being discussed in the company's next board meeting scheduled in October.

The company's Manesar plant has annual production capacity of three lakh units, while its other facility in Gurgaon (also near Delhi) produces seven lakh units per annum.

On the commencement of construction of the third unit, Bhargava said, "Ideally construction should start after the completion of the second unit, but it does not mean that we cannot start before that."