KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi have inaugurated Maruti Suzuki’s new vehicle manufacturing plant at IMT Kharkhoda, Haryana, India. The facility was launched virtually during the India-Japan Joint Economic Forum in New Delhi.
Spread across 800 acres, the Kharkhoda plant has an initial annual production capacity of 500,000 vehicles. Maruti Suzuki says the capacity can be expanded to 1 million units, making it one of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturing facilities.
The plant is based on Suzuki’s “Smart Factory” concept. It uses advanced digital technologies for real-time monitoring of production to improve safety, quality, and productivity while reducing energy consumption.
The facility also incorporates Industry 5.0 technologies, including human-aware collaborative robots (COBOTS). It runs entirely on renewable electricity and operates as a zero-liquid-discharge manufacturing plant.
Maruti Suzuki plans to invest Rs 35,000 crore in the Kharkhoda project. The company estimates the facility will create more than 21,000 jobs as production expands.
