Maruti's Gurgaon facility to be Suzuki's R&D hub in Asia

Monday, 01 December 2003, 20:30 IST
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BANGALORE: Maruti Udyog Ltd's multi-billion-rupee research and development facility will become Japanese auto major Suzuki's Asia hub by 2007 for the design and development of new compact cars, says a top official of the firm. As India's largest carmaker, Maruti will be investing substantially in upgrading its research and development centre at Gurgaon in Haryana for executing design and development projects for Suzuki, including localisation, modernisation and greater use of composite technologies in upcoming models. Maruti Udyog general manager Arvind Saxena told IANS that the parent company had decided to shift its new projects from Japan to India and other Asian countries to leverage research and development local talent and to capitalise on the lower cost advantage. "With a view to turning the Maruti research and development centre into Suzuki's hub in Asia outside Japan for the next generation of models in the compact car segment, we are sending our design and engineering teams in batches of 20 to 30 people to Japan for intensive training and adaptation." After a stint of 12 to 18 months at Suzuki's main research and development facilities in Japan, the teams are given specific design and re-engineering projects to upgrade the existing Maruti Alto, Zen and 800 models. "Till now, hundreds of our engineers and specialists have been trained at Suzuki centres," said Saxena in an interview. "Apart from working on innovative features, the teams will focus on latest technologies using CAD-CAM tools to roll out new models that will meet the needs of our diverse customers in future," he said. On a pilot basis, Suzuki transferred the technology and equipment to Maruti for indigenously designing the latest Zen model launched last week. The re-designing and re-engineering of the company's flagship premium compact car was undertaken a decade after the Zen was introduced in India. "Years of expertise and heavy investment in research and development have enabled Maruti's in-house competence to do a full facelift of the Zen. The Japanese training and perseverance of our talent pool of engineers and designers have paid off," Saxena claimed. The company was able to save 350 million by indigenously designing and revamping the Zen at Gurgaon, as the same attempt in Japan or other Suzuki centres in Asia would have cost twice the amount. In the run-up to becoming Suzuki's Asian research and development hub, Maruti's Gurgaon facility is looking at ways to revamp existing models in all segments that are marketed in the subcontinent and exported to Europe and West Asia. Company sources hinted the Maruti 800 model would be re-launched soon with new designer features and additional facilities to maintain its position as Maruti's breadwinner. "Research and development work is an ongoing process at Maruti. To stay ahead of the competition and retain its leadership position with around 45 percent market share, new models and upgrades of existing ones will be a constant activity of the company," Saxena said. Asked whether any research and development work was being done on the Maruti 800 model, the company's flagship product that accounts for the largest sales from the its stable, Saxena said it was one among the models. "It is too early to say which will be the next one. It's a fact that the 800 model is due for a fresh look as it is now six to seven years since it was last re-launched with variants and upgraded to make it conform to Euro-I and Euro-II emission norms," he noted. The company will be hiring more software engineers and technocrats to handle Suzuki's research and development projects in the future. "The investment will be more in manpower than in infrastructure, which is already in place and modular for ramping up the operations," Saxena said.
Source: IANS