Sri Lanka is currently the second largest market in terms of sales for Maruti Suzuki India. The Indo-Japanese company is now planning to expand its footprints in the island country and is reportedly planning to setup an assembly plant there.
A report on Daily News says Maruti Suzuki is currently studying the feasibility of the assembly plant in Sri Lanka. This was reported quoting Upul Jayasuriya, Board of Investment Chairman, Maruti Suzuki at the opening of the India sourcing exhibition at the Sri Lanka Exhibition & Convention Centre (SLECC) in Colombo.
The largest car manufacturer of India had initially announced its plant in Sri Lanka in 2013. The location shortlisted was the Hambantota, which is roughly 250 kilometres from the capital city of Colombo. The Hambantota Harbour nearby was expected to have pivotal role in re- export. However, due some tax issues with previous government the project did not receive the green light. The positive development between India and Sri Lanka is regarded as one of the reasons to revive the plan.
Maruti Suzuki India sold a total of 120,824 units of passenger vehicles in Sri Lanka in November 2015. The company reported a growth of 9.7 per cent in the previous month with sales of 1,10,599 units in the domestic market and 10,225 units in exports.
Maruti Suzuki sells fourteen models in Sri Lanka starting from the Alto hatchback to Grand Vitara SUV.
