Ahmedabad: Japan’s Suzuki Motor and Toshiba today said their lithium-ion battery manufacturing joint venture (JV) in Gujarat will start mass production from year 2020.

Mr. Kenichi Ayukawa Managing Director and CEO of Maruti Suzuki India Limited while speaking at India Japan Business & Tourism Conclave at Ahmedabad Management Association here said, ‘Suzuki group is committed to Prime Minister Mr. Modi’s ‘Make in India’ vision. Suzuki Motor Gujarat’s expansion is on course and Gujarat plant will attain full capacity of 7.5 lakh unit production in 2020. Upcoming Lithium Ion battery joint venture between Suzuki, Toshiba and Denso is making good progress and will commence operation in 2020.’

Speaking at the same function, Mr. Tomohiko Okada, Managing Director, Toshiba India Pvt. Ltd. also said that Lithium battery plant in Gujarat will start ass production in year 2020.

He said, ‘Toshiba, Suzuki and Denso established a joint venture company for production of automotive lithium battery, first in India. The plant will be in Hansalpur. This joint venture will be first of its kind manufacturing unit for lithium battery manufacturing in India. Mass production will commence from year 2020, contributing immensely to the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Clean India’ initiatives.

In reply to a question pertaining to slow down in automobile industry, Kenichi Ayukawa of Suzuki Motors said, ‘unfortunately right now automobile industry is witnessing very much slow down, specially this year, but in the business itself it’s sometime good sometime bad, every five years sometime it will go up sometime down unfortunately. We are, as I said, preparing a new factory in Gujarat and the plant will start operating in new year. In long term view, Indian market is growing may be by 5-7-10 million in next ten years. Based on that understanding we are preparing for our capacity, and that is our stand.

Ayukawa speaking about company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in Gujarat said, ‘as part of CSR we will soon bring a school and hostel near our Gujarat plant. Our skill development facility JIM (Japan India Institute for Manufacturing) by Maruti Suzuki has completed twow batches of students; the first batch had 100 per cent placement and the second batch of youngsters will see placement shortly and join the mainstream business with their skill. The company has already started second JIM in Haryana.

DeshGujarat