One of the biggest and oldest Indian automobile manufacturers, Maruti Suzuki, formerly known as Maruti udyog Ltd., recently inked a pact with Kamarajar Port Ltd (KPL) for boosting exports. This 5-year binding agreement, starting December 2022, would majorly focus on the export of 20,000 passenger vehicles annually to the global markets of Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, ASEAN, Oceania & SAARC regions through this port near Chennai. In alignment with this vision, a car-cum-general cargo berth has already been developed and commissioned by KPL to facilitate the processes. Earlier, contracts have been signed with the posts at Mumbai, Mundra, and Pipavav for the same.
When asked about this, MD & CEO MSIL, Hisashi Takeuchi said “The start of exports from the Kamarajar Port will help us reach out to a wider base of customers. This initiative will also help to decongest the Mumbai Port, Mundra Port, and Pipavav Port used by the company to export vehicles at present.”
On the other hand, Sunil Paliwal, CMD of Kamarajar Port Ltd said, “Maruti Suzuki has earned the distinction of being a major contributor to exports from India, and associating with the company will help us augment our operations as well.”
Adding on, the official statements read “Maruti Suzuki’s Grand Vitara that is manufactured at Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s Bidadi plant in Karnataka under the partnership between Suzuki Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation, will be sent to the pre-delivery inspection center at the Kamarajar Port, and subsequently shipped from there, thus reducing time, money and efforts altogether.”
