Engineers of Indias largest carmaker Marutis research and development (R&D) centre expect is planning to launch a fully India conceptualised, designed and developed car within three years, informed Mr. I.V. Rao, Managing Executive Officer, Engineering, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.
Mr. Rao stated, "This project will take us to the next level of engineering and design work from what we have been handling in the last few years in models such as Swift, Dzire, Zen, SX4 and A-Star. Earlier, it has been joint development work between Indian engineers and Suzuki researchers in Japan."
Mr. Rao, head of the R&D team in India informed that the development work would require significant expansion and investment in engineers.
Mr. Rao said, "Most of the changes we bring about in existing models are based on outcome feedback. Likewise, the new car is likely to meet the latent demand in India."
He added, "We now have 720 engineers in India and expect to take this number up to 1,000 by next year. As a part of this expansion, we are in the process of recruiting automotive engineers and experts from not just within the country but from other parts of the world."
Rao further added, "In the R&D expansion, which is part of the Rs 9,000-crore expansion project announced by the company, we will develop a test track in Haryana. The company is in talks with the Government to acquire 500 acres more near Manesar plant."
Speaking about the ongoing research actions, he said that the focus is on tweaking engines and developing technologies to make sure that some of the models comply with BS IV norms by 2010. These include Maruti 800 and Omni.
He elaborated, "Though we have a smaller 660 cc engine, we believe that it will not be suitable for India requirements as Indians prefer a soft pedal rather than the rev-up approach in other markets. Therefore, we are tweaking the existing engines."
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