Maruti Suzuki managing director Shinzo Nakanishi and chairman R.C. Bhargava met Gujarat Chief Minister
Narendra Modi on Tuesday to discuss a location to set up its manufacturing unit in the state.
If Maruti Suzuki strikes a deal with the
Gujarat government, it will be the first plant of the country's largest car maker outside Haryana, where it has been based since its inception in 1983. And, it will be yet another feather in Modi's cap after he bailed out Tata Motors' Nano car project following the Singur fiasco.
Nakanishi and Bhargava's visit was considered more of a courtesy call and it was unlikely that either the government or the car manufacturer would make an early announcement as the location for the new plant was not yet decided.
Sources said Maruti Suzuki will see if the Gujarat government provides incentives like it did for Nano. The carmaker is said to have zeroed in on a location near Sanand out of three offerings -- Sanand, Halol and Dholera.
General Motors has a plant in Halol, while Tata Motors has a plant in Sanand. One of the main attractions for Maruti Suzuki is Mundra Port through which it exports companies' A-Star and Swift models.
After the meeting, Bhargava said, "We have exhausted our place at Manesar (for further expansion). We are looking at options and we are very positive about Gujarat. No firm decision has been taken yet on location or site. But the attitude of the chief minister and the state government is very-very positive and for that reason Gujarat has a very strong probability for our future selection."
"Our first phase of production would be the capacity to produce 1 million cars, which would take 5 years to set up and would entail Rs 6,000 crores of investment. If the market continues to look up, we could invest another Rs 6,000 crores," Bhargava said adding that it was too early to talk of incentives and location as the final decision would be taken in three to four months.
Courtesy: Headlines Today
Maruti eye Gujarat for new car plant location 
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