India’s leading carmaker Maruti Suzuki plans will start exporting select models as completely knocked down (CKD) kits, beginning with its new multi-passenger vehicle Ertiga. Maruti Suzuki will launch the Ertiga at the Auto Expo in Delhi in January. The company is eyeing larger volumes in the lucrative export market.
“There is a great potential to export vehicles as CKD in many markets in Asia,” Maruti Suzuki India MD S Nakanish said. “Maruti will act as the biggest supplier of cars to the parent SMC and to start with we will dispatch Ertiga MPV and other new models from next year,”.
Cars dispatched as components and assembled in overseas markets invite lower taxes, making them more competitive. In Indonesia, where the import duty on fully imported cars is 26%, cars brought under the CKD route invite a much lower 10% tax.
Ertiga, a seven-seater MPV which will be available in 1.4 litre petrol and 1.3 litre multijet diesel engine options, will be initially shipped to Indonesia and later to Thailand. The CKD kits will include critical parts, such as engine and transmission, fuel tank, wheel rim, brakes, parts of suspension and steering that will be sealed and dispatched from the company’s Manesar plant.
Maruti Suzuki is going to play a bigger role for Suzuki in the future with more car models being developed in India and then exported to other parts of the world.
The new SX4 sedan which will be built on a complete new platform replacing the current SX4 will also be made in India and exported to Europe.
Maruti currently exports the A-Star and Estilo small cars.
Source: ET
