The joint inauguration of Maruti Suzuki's Kharkhoda plant by the prime ministers of India and Japan was "the greatest possible honour" for Suzuki in India, and places added responsibility on the company towards Viksit Bharat, Suzuki Motor Corporation President Toshihiro Suzuki said on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi virtually inaugurated Maruti Suzuki India's fourth manufacturing facility at Kharkhoda in Haryana on Thursday, during the India-Japan Joint Economic Forum in the Capital.
"It was the greatest possible honour for Suzuki in India when both the Hon'ble Prime Ministers of India and Japan inaugurated our Kharkhoda plant yesterday," said Suzuki, who is also Representative Director of Suzuki Motor Corporation, the parent of Maruti Suzuki India.
Also read: PM Modi, Japan PM Takaichi jointly inaugurate Maruti Suzuki's Kharkhoda plant
"This places even more responsibility on us to recommit and rededicate ourselves to Viksit Bharat. The foundation of this is human development. I immediately decided to visit today our institutes for road safety, IDTR in Bahadurgarh, and for skill development, JIM in Manesar," he added.
Suzuki, along with Maruti Suzuki India Managing Director and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi and senior management, visited the Japan-India Institute for Manufacturing (JIM) in Manesar, where they interacted with students and reviewed the training ecosystem that equips young talent with industry-relevant technical expertise and Japanese manufacturing practices. JIM is a flagship skill development initiative offering vocational training aligned with advanced manufacturing requirements.
Spread across nearly 800 acres, the Kharkhoda plant is Maruti Suzuki's fourth facility in India after Gurugram, Manesar and Gujarat. It currently has two operational manufacturing units with a combined installed capacity of 5 lakh vehicles annually, which the company plans to scale up to 10 lakh vehicles in phases. Maruti Suzuki has earmarked a total investment of Rs 35,000 crore for the facility, expected to create over 21,000 direct jobs.
The plant is built on the company's Suzuki Smart Factory concept, incorporating Industry 5.0-enabled manufacturing and AI-powered collaborative robots. It runs on 100% renewable electricity, features 100% water recycling, and operates as a Zero Liquid Discharge unit.
