This figure represents nearly one-fourth of Maruti Suzuki’s total vehicle despatches during the year. By leveraging railways, the company successfully avoided over 1.8 lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) emissions and saved more than 63 million litres of fuel, underscoring its commitment to green logistics, said a company statement.
“Reducing carbon emissions is a top priority for us, both in our products and in our operations,” said Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & CEO of Maruti Suzuki India Limited. “Maruti Suzuki was the first company in India to obtain an Automobile-Freight-Train-Operator licence in 2013. Since then, we have despatched nearly 24 lakh vehicles through rail. By FY 2030-31, we aim to increase the share of rail-based dispatches to 35 per cent.”
Since FY 2014-15, Maruti Suzuki’s rail despatch volumes have increased nearly eight fold. The company now uses more than 20 rail hubs to serve over 600 cities across India, in addition to utilizing the ports of Mundra and Pipavav for exports.
A major milestone in its rail logistics journey came in 2024, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s first automobile in-plant railway siding at Maruti Suzuki’s Gujarat manufacturing facility.
Currently, the company operates more than 40 flexi deck rakes — each capable of transporting approximately 300 vehicles per trip — further enhancing its capacity to shift toward environmentally-friendly logistics.