Suzuki Motor Corp., Japan's second- largest minicar maker, plans to double production of engines in India to 1 million units a year as the company expands in its biggest overseas market.
The automaker will invest about 25 billion yen ($277 million) to increase the production capacity of its K-series engines, Chairman Osamu Suzuki said in Manesar, near New Delhi, today. The company is spending a similar amount to expand research facilities in the nation, Suzuki said.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., a unit of Suzuki and the nation's biggest carmaker, is spending 17 billion rupees ($373 million) to increase capacity by 250,000 cars at the Manesar factory. Competition has intensified for the New Delhi-based unit after Volkswagen AG, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. started selling new compact cars in the South Asian nation.
Maruti gained as much as 1.1 percent to 1,412.2 rupees and traded at 1,397.85 rupees as of 2:08 p.m. in Mumbai.
India's vehicle sales may reach 3 million units annually by 2015, helped by new models such as Tata Motors Ltd.'s Nano, the world's cheapest car, and higher incomes among a middle class of about 50 million people, according to a 2006 government forecast.
