Hansalpur (Gujarat) Aug 26 (PTI) Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corporation will invest Rs 70,000 crore in the next five to six years in India to strengthen its operations in the country, its Representative Director and President Toshihiro Suzuki said on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday kicked off exports of Maruti Suzuki India's first electric vehicle e VITARA to 100 countries and also inaugurated the production of lithium-ion battery cells for strong hybrid electric vehicles at its facility here.

Speaking at the event, Toshihiro Suzuki said, "Suzuki will invest over Rs 70,000 crore in India, over the next 5 to 6 years." He further said, "Suzuki has proudly partnered in India's mobility journey for over four decades. We remain committed to supporting India's vision for sustainable green mobility and contributing to Viksit Bharat." Suzuki Group has already invested over Rs 1 lakh crore in India. These investments have also led to the creation of over 11 lakh direct jobs in the value chain.

Manufactured exclusively at Suzuki Motor Gujarat (SMG), a unit of Maruti Suzuki India, the first batch of export bound e VITARA will be shipped from Pipavav port to the European region, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, France, Denmark, Switzerland, Netherlands, Sweden, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Austria, and Belgium.

Suzuki said the Gujarat facility, serving customers across India and global markets will shortly become one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturing hubs, with a planned capacity of 10 lakh units.

He further said, "We chose this facility to manufacture the e VITARA, our first BEV and make it as a global production hub for this model. We will export this "Made-in-India BEV" to over 100 countries, including Japan and Europe." He said the company's second major milestone is the "start of production of India's first lithium-ion battery and cell with electrode level localisation, which are used in our hybrid vehicles." These are being manufactured at the Toshiba Denso Suzuki plant here, he added.

"With only raw material and some semiconductor parts coming from Japan, this is a big salute to Atmanirbhar Bharat. We will use a multi-powertrain strategy including Electric, Strong Hybrid, ethanol flex fuel, and compressed biogas, to achieve carbon neutrality and climate change goals." PTI RKL MSS DRR

Investment commitment expands domestic EV and battery production, enabling Made in India exports and multi powertrain localisation. Suzuki announced a substantial multi year investment in India to expand vehicle and lithium ion battery cell production, develop the Gujarat facility as a global manufacturing and export hub for the e VITARA BEV, and pursue electrode level localisation with limited reliance on imported raw materials and semiconductors, while deploying a multi powertrain strategy to support sustainable mobility and domestic manufacturing self reliance.