PremiumIndia has the potential to become the number one automotive market in the world, Suzuki Motor Corporation Representative Director and President Toshihiro Suzuki said on 11 January, adding, small cars have an important role to play in it.
According to Toshihiro Suzuki, electric vehicles alone will not be the solution to India's quest for carbon neutrality. However, he added that the firm will explore other technologies such as flex fuels, hybrids and CNG.
He was of the opinion that there is a need to strictly follow the basic traffic rules and also developing adequate infrastructure to ensure road safety, while sharing his thoughts on safety issues becoming important for automobiles.
"I can see that there can be a time when India would be positioned as number one market (of automobiles) in the world. Maruti Suzuki and Suzuki as a group, we would like to capture this opportunity. We would like to develop technology for providing the right mobility solutions to this market," he said in an interaction with reporters on the sidelines of Auto Expo 2023.
Declining to share the possible timeline for India to reach the top, Suzuki asserted, "When I say India can become the number one, that is from the perspective that India has the potential to become number one, and I see that there is a possibility that India can become number one."
India overtook Japan to become the third largest automotive market in the world after China and the US in 2022, having sold over an estimated 42.5 lakh units.
On the roadmap for small cars, Suzuki said, "I think, in India still small cars fall into the important category."
The low car-penetration level of cars in India as compared to its overall population provides small cars "the potential to do good in the future", he added.
"I think, in the future, you might not require big cars, you might require only the small cars. I think it can be only the small car which is going to support the mobility of the people," Suzuki opined.
Suzuki admitted that due to the delay in bringing SUVs into the Indian market, Maruti Suzuki has lost market share and the company would bring in more products in the segment to regain its share of 50 per cent in the passenger vehicles category.
"We are in the process of taking action and recovering market share..SUV is a boom..but what would be the next boom, we need to watch," Suzuki said, adding that the company would launch its new SUV on Thursday at the expo here.
With the demand for SUVs rising in India, the small car segment, which is the bread and butter segment for SMC's Indian arm Maruti Suzuki.
On the roadmap for the company's sustainable products in India, he said when it comes to carbon neutrality, one of the options is EV and other manufactures have launched electric vehicles.
"But the solution can't be one...when it comes to launching apt vehicles in India, it should be apt for the Indian market. So SMC does not want to be swayed by EV only option. There are other options such as hybrid, ethanol, flex fuel," he said, adding the company would also expand CNG options in order to provide the right kind of vehicles to meet the requirements of the Indian market.
The group would like to discuss with the Indian government in order to be able to provide the right technology in the march towards carbon neutrality, he added.
With PTI inputs.