Maruti Suzuki exports one millionth vehicle

New Delhi, April 30 (IANS) Passenger car market leader Maruti Suzuki Monday dispatched its one millionth vehicle, a red coloured hatchback A-star, for delivery in Denmark.

The export vehicle left the Mundra port along with 2,200 other vehicles for various international destinations such as Switzerland, Malta, Sweden, Algeria, Egypt and Morocco.

"A million cars in overseas markets is a significant milestone for us. We are happy that cars manufactured at Maruti Suzuki India have found good customer acceptance in overseas markets," said Shinzo Nakanishi, managing director and chief executive, Maruti Suzuki India.

According to Nakanishi, the company has aligned its export strategy by focusing more on the non-European markets.

"Two years back, Europe was a strong destination for us. The market for us has shifted significantly from Europe to non-European countries," Nakanishi said.

In 2009-10, the company exported a total of 1.47 lakh units out of which over 75 percent were bound for Europe. However, in 2011-12 the share of non-EU export shot up sharply from 23 percent to 66 percent.

"This strategy worked in our favour and helped us retain our export numbers after European nations withdrew the scrappage incentives," Nakanishi added.

The company said Algeria has emerged as a key exports destination for it and that the latest export shipment includes over 1,500 units for the North African nation.

"With today's shipment Algeria also attains the landmark of being the only country to import over 100,000 units from Maruti Suzuki," the company said.

The company added that it plans to expand its presence in newer markets including the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region.