Maruti Suzuki India Limited has achieved a major logistics milestone by transporting over three million vehicles through the Indian Railways, marking a significant shift in how India’s largest carmaker moves its finished automobiles across the country.

The company said it has steadily expanded its use of rail transport over the past decade as part of a broader strategy to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and lower carbon emissions. While rail once accounted for a small share of its logistics operations, the proportion has now risen to nearly a quarter of total vehicle dispatches.

According to the company, the jump from two million to three million rail-transported vehicles was achieved in just about 21 months, making it the fastest million-vehicle milestone reached through rail dispatches so far. The development has also contributed to more predictable delivery timelines for dealers and customers, as rail transport is less affected by highway congestion, fuel price fluctuations, and weather-related disruptions.

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Maruti Suzuki India Limited has also invested heavily in dedicated rail infrastructure. It was the first Indian automaker to secure an Automobile Freight Train Operator (AFTO) licence, allowing it to operate specialised car-carrying trains on the national network. The company has also developed in-plant railway sidings at its Manesar and Hansalpur manufacturing facilities in Gujarat, enabling direct loading of vehicles from production sites.

These facilities together can handle up to 7.5 lakh vehicles annually and are linked to a distribution network covering more than 600 cities through 22 logistics hubs. The company says this hub-and-spoke model has helped streamline the movement of cars from factories to dealerships while reducing reliance on road transport.

Beyond efficiency gains, the shift toward rail is also part of Maruti Suzuki’s “green logistics” initiative. The company claims that increased rail usage has helped reduce carbon emissions and save significant fuel consumption, aligning with India’s broader climate goals, including net-zero emissions targets. Looking ahead, the automaker aims to raise the share of rail transport in its total dispatches to around 35% by FY 2030–31 as production capacity expands.

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