In A Historic First, Maruti Suzuki Commences Export Of 'Made In India' Fronx SUVs To Japan

Maruti Suzuki India Limited announced on Tuesday (13 August) that it has started exporting its ‘Made-in-India’ SUV, the Fronx, to Japan.

This marks a significant milestone as it is the first time an Indian-made SUV has been exported to the Japanese market, reflecting the expanding global footprint of 'Brand India.'

The inaugural shipment, consisting of over 1,600 Fronx SUVs, departed from Gujarat’s Pipavav port on 13 August. Notably, Fronx is the second model from Maruti Suzuki to be exported to Japan, following the successful export of the Baleno hatchback in 2016.

Exclusively manufactured at Maruti Suzuki’s state-of-the-art Gujarat plant, the Fronx is set to be launched in Japan by Suzuki Motor Corporation, Maruti Suzuki’s parent company, in the autumn of 2024.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, took to X (formerly Twitter) to celebrate the occasion.

"A truly proud moment as a consignment of over 1600 'Made In India' SUVs from Maruti Suzuki is exported for the first time to Japan," he wrote.

Unveiled globally at the Auto Expo 2023, Fronx was launched in India on 24 April 2023. The SUV has caught the fancy of Indian consumers and became the first model in Maruti Suzuki's history to reach 1,00,000 sales within just 10 months of its launch.

In July 2023, Maruti Suzuki began exporting the Fronx to various regions, including Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. To date, the Fronx has achieved total sales of over 2,00,000 units across domestic and export markets.

India’s leading passenger vehicle exporter, Maruti Suzuki shipped more than 2,80,000 units to over 100 countries in the previous fiscal year (FY 2023-24). The company currently commands a 42 per cent share of the country’s passenger vehicle exports.

In the April-June quarter of the current fiscal year (FY 2024-25), Maruti Suzuki set a new benchmark by exporting 70,560 units, the highest ever for the company in any first quarter (Q1) period.