The country’s largest car company Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) has sent 2.33 lakh vehicles through the Indian Railways for sale in various parts of the country in the last financial year (2021-22). This is the biggest figure for the company for the consignment of cars sent through the railways. Giving this information, a senior company official said that Maruti started shipping its vehicles to different parts of the country through railways about eight years ago.
The company had consigned 1.89 lakh vehicles through railways in 2020-21. In this way, its ‘transport’ through railways has increased by 23 percent in 2021-22. Overall, the auto giant has sent 11 lakh cars through the Railways for sale in different parts of the country in the last eight years. This has helped in reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 4,800 tonnes. The move has reduced the trucks by about 1,56,000 trips and saved 174 crore liters of fuel.
Rahul Bharti, executive director of Maruti Suzuki, while talking to news agency PTI said, “Sending cars through railways not only helps in reducing carbon emissions, but also gets rid of ‘jams’ on the road.”
In 2014-15, the company had supplied 66,000 vehicles through railways, he added. This figure has increased to 2.33 lakh units in 2021-22. The company will increase the use of railways to send its vehicles. At present, 15 percent of the vehicles sent by the company to different parts of the country go by rail. The company has 41 railway rakes. Each rake has a capacity of 300 vehicles.
Maruti Suzuki is the largest car company in the country. In the financial year 2021-22, it sent 16.5 lakh vehicles to India. The company also made a profit of Rs 3,766 crore during this period. Maruti has a share of around 50 per cent in the Indian car market.