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I have just received a SMS from one of my good friends in Maruti-Suzuki. He texted to inform that Maruti (Suzuki India) sold more cars in the first six months of the financial year than Suzuki did in Japan.
Kudos to Maruti!
Leaves me with a few questions though.
Is Suzuki happy with the development? I wonder how a father feels when the son starts doing better. I know - bad analogy.
Is Maruti allowed to express its happiness openly? FYI no formal press releases.
Will Jagdish Khattar be elevated to play a role in Suzuki's global operations? After all, in a market like India where everyone is feeling the heat due to high interest rates, it is Khattar's confidence (bordering sometimes on cockiness) that has seen Maruti continue its march ahead.
On the serious side, this definitely means that India is now even more important for Suzuki than it ever was.
Will that translate into greater product development happening in India? The trend is definitely there. Starting with the Swift, the YN4 (Swift three-box under development) and now the YC5, Maruti engineers have been playing an ever increasing role in product development. Purchasing is another area that will see greater attention on India. Suzuki already as a global purchasing office in India and the company's Indian band of suppliers have done well to deliver consistent quality to Maruti. Now some of them will get the opportunity to participate in Suzuki's global programmes.
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