Maruti Suzuki is looking to build a new factory in India’s western Gujarat state as it seeks to boost production by up to 2m units a year, according to local press reports.
The Business Standard said the company was exploring the possibility of a new plant in the state, where Tata Motors builds its low-cost Nano model.
The financial daily added that senior company executive met Gujarat’s chief minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday to inform him of their interest although nothing has been finalised.
The carmaker confirmed the state government had shown it a few locations.
Maruti Suzuki already has a manufacturing unit in the northern state of Harayana, and wants to expand its capacity by 1m cars a year.
A new plant would accommodate that, plus further expansion for another 1m units over the next five years. Maruti is the market leader in India and sold 1,271,005 cars there in 2010-11, up 24.8% on the previous year.

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By GlobalDataAlthough it is India’s largest carmaker by sales, Maruti has seen its share of the domestic market shrink by 5% to 45% due to increased competition.
Initial investment in the new plan is reportedly INR60bn (US$1.3bn), according to the Economic Times which also noted that last year, Maurti managing director Shinzo Nakanishi said the company was looking to advance its capacity expansion plans to meet booming demand in India.
A government source said company officials had held several rounds of meetings with the state in April and this month on the modalities of the project.
Government sources have told newspapers the company has been offered three locations – Halol near Vadodara, Sanand and Dholera – for the project and has zeroed in on Sanand, 30km (20 miles) from Ahmedabad.
Halol in central Gujarat also has a General Motors plant, which was set up in the early 1990s.