Maruti Suzuki India Limited has signed an agreement with Kamarajar Port Limited to export passenger cars to global markets, India's largest carmaker said in a statement on Dec 22.
The Kamaragar port, which is located about 20 km north of the Chennai port in Tamil Nadu, will be used to export to the Africa, Middle East, Latin America, ASEAN, Oceania and SAARC regions. The Gurugram-based company said it would export 20,000 vehicles annually from the port.
Starting exports from the Kamaragar port will help us reach out to wider customer base. This initiative will also help to decongest the Mumbai Port, Mundra Port and Pipavav Port, which the company currently uses to export vehicles,” said Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director and CEO of Maruti Suzuki India.
Maruti was dedicated to the "Make in India" initiative, and the company's expanding export operations reflect its commitment to offering reliable, high-quality and technologically advanced vehicles to global customers, he said.
The agreement, which begins in December 2022, has a duration of five years. To facilitate car exports, Kamarajar Port Limited has developed and commissioned a general car loading dock.
“We are delighted to enter into an agreement with India's leading passenger car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki, to provide our port services for vehicle exports to regions around the world,” said Sunil Paliwal, CMD, Kamarajar Port Limited.
Maruti Suzuki is privileged to be a major contributor to India's exports, and the partnership with the company will help the port increase its operations, he said.
As part of the partnership between Suzuki Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation, the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara is manufactured at the Toyota Kirloskar Motor plant in Bidadi, Karnataka.
Vehicles to be exported would be sent to the Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) Center at Kamaragar Port and thereafter shipped. Named as India's 12th major port, Kamaragar has parking capacity for 14,000 vehicles.
Maruti Suzuki, which started exporting cars in 1986, registered its highest exports in the 2021-22 fiscal year, shipping more than 2.38 lakh units to more than 100 countries. It said the company will continue to export from the ports of Mumbai, Mundra and Pipavav.
At 12:07pm, Maruti Suzuki was trading at Rs 8,309.95 on the National Stock Exchange, down 0.48 percent as the market was trading 0.6 percent lower.
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