Japan’s Suzuki drives deeper into India with global R&D unit

Suzuki Motor Corp will set up a global research and development company in India, its president said on Sunday, pushing deeper into a market that is set to become an electric vehicle hub for the Japanese carmaker.

The new company, a wholly owned unit of Suzuki Japan, will strengthen the carmaker’s R&D competitiveness and capabilities in India and other global markets, Toshihiro Suzuki told an event in Gandhinagar, the capital of western Gujarat state.

“India has become one of the most important countries for Suzuki Group,” he said, adding that Suzuki would keep investing heavily in the country.

Suzuki, which already builds combustion engine cars in India for its local unit Maruti Suzuki and for export, will in 2025 start producing electric vehicles at its factory in Gujarat. It is also setting up a separate plant in the state to build batteries for electric vehicles starting 2026.

The Japanese carmaker has said it will spend more than 104 billion rupees (US$1.3 billion) on its electrification plans in India, making it one of Suzuki’s biggest battery and electric vehicle investments globally. It has already invested 650 billion rupees in the country.

“India plays a significant role as a global automobile production hub in Suzuki Group,” Suzuki said.

Suzuki also has a joint venture with Japan’s Denso Corp and Toshiba Corp to build lithium-ion batteries for hybrid cars for local use and exports.