The first export shipment of Maruti Suzuki’s new A-star (aka Alto) is on its way to Europe.
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The pilot consignment from Mundra Port comprised 1,458 right hand drive cars for the UK and 76 left-hookers headed to Italy. They’re due to arrive by early February.
The shipment was flagged off at a ceremony by Shinzo Nakanishi, MD and CEO of Maruti Suzuki India, and various port, logistics and shipping line officials.
The A-star, branded Suzuki Alto for Europe, is the automaker’s latest entry into the European A-segment small car market segment. It will also be built for Nissan as the Pixar on an OEM basis.
Maruti Suzuki has previously built Altos for Europe – a staple of southern Mediterranean holiday resort rental car fleets – and is now the key global ‘export hub’ for the redesigned model which also has a new one-litre engine.
Dedicated rail transport cars and port facilities have been prepared for the new model.
“The A-star is expected to contribute a significant number to the overall export target,” Maruti said in a statement.
Port facilities are being developed to handle exports of over 200,000 units annually by 2010-11.
Maruti Suzuki will continue to route a portion of its exports through Maharashtra’s Mumbai and Nhava Sheva ports.
It has so far exported over 552,000 units with about 280,000 sent to Europe and Israel. In the current fiscal year, it has shipped about 44,870 units to date, up 18% year on year.
The car terminal facility being developed at Mundra is a part of the long term agreement signed between Maruti Suzuki and port companies last year to develop a dedicated car handling facility.
The INR1bn terminal conforms to international standards and is expected to improve local vehicle handling efficiency and help put India on the global automotive logistics map, the partners said.
The car terminal should be fully operational by March 2009. The facility will also house a pre-delivery inspection centre, a holding yard and a dedicated buffer area to park cars ahead of loading onto ships.
