Suzuki aims to keep 50 percent India market share "for eternity"

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"We can't let newcomers break our 50 percent share that easily. We're going to do everything we can to keep that level for eternity," Chief Executive Officer Osamu Suzuki said at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.

Suzuki, Japan's top maker of compact cars, has been expanding its sales and profits at breakneck speed in the past few years largely thanks to its dominance of the fast-growing Indian market. Suzuki, which owns a majority of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, sold more cars in India than in Japan for the first time in the first half of this business year.

Suzuki, who was the main force behind the automaker's entry into India when the country was still an automotive backwater, has repeatedly acknowledged that competition was set to intensify as global heavyweights such as Toyota Motor Corp and Nissan Motor Co prepare to attack the market.

But with a sharp focus on product development that includes bigger and more value-added cars such as the Swift hatchback and SX4 crossover, he said Maruti Suzuki was well-placed to stay dominant.

Maruti Suzuki, founded by Suzuki and the Indian government in 1982, retains a firm grip on the local car market, increasing its sales by 24 percent last month. Third-ranked Tata Motors Ltd, its closest local rival, reported a 4 percent drop. South Korea's Hyundai Motor is the second-biggest seller in India.

Shinzo Nakanishi, soon to be Maruti Suzuki's managing director, also speaking at the event, said the company would likely boost its sales outlets to about 1,000 in the next five to 10 years from about 550 now.

"I believe our rivals Tata and Hyundai Motor now have about 200 outlets, and they will similarly expand their networks," said Nakanishi, who will become the first Japanese national to head Maruti on Dec. 18. He added that investing in warehouses to store spare parts in various regions of the sprawling country was also in the works.

On top of future competition from global brands, Maruti Suzuki faces a potentially stronger rival in Tata or Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, which are bidding for Ford Motor Co's British brands, Jaguar and Land Rover. Ford has said a decision would come by the end of the year.

CEO Suzuki put on a brave face, saying he was "grateful" for the fierce competition and repeated that Maruti Suzuki will continue to stick to its own growth plans, also unswayed by Tata's separate plan for a $2,500 "people's car" for India.

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