Maruti Suzuki dispatches record 2 million vehicles through Railways

Maruti Suzuki (India) Ltd, the country’s largest car maker, has created a logistics record, dispatching 2 million vehicles through Indian Railways

Maruti effectively used Indian Railways, currently the cheapest mode of freight transportation, to dispatch vehicles to 20 destinations, serving over 450 cities.

Railways’ share of Maruti Suzuki’s vehicle dispatches went up from 65,700 units or just 5 per cent of the total in FY2014-15 to 4,47,750 units, forming 21.5 per cent of its total vehicle despatches in FY2023-24.    

Railways not only provide a safer and congestion-free alternative to road transport, but also offers an energy-efficient and less polluting means of transport. For Maruti, this has resulted in cumulative reduction of CO2 emissions of approximately 10,000 tonnes and saving of 270 million litres of fuel over the last 10 years.

Maruti started using Railways for transporting vehicles to support the government’s goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2070.

The use of rail transport not only supports the government’s goal of reducing carbon emissions, but also contributes to the sustainability of the company’s vehicle logistics.

Maruti Suzuki is the first automaker in India to reach this environmental milestone. This is also part of the company’s commitment to 'green logistics'. 

Hisashi Takeuchi, managing director and CEO of Maruti Suzuki India Limited, said the company is planning to augment vehicle dispatches through Railways to 35 per cent over the next 7-8 years as production capacity nearly doubles from 2 million units at present to 4 million units by 2030-31.