Gujarat emerging as a global auto hub: Modi

“The journey started with Tata Nano,Ford,Peugeot,and now Maruti has entered in Gujarat which will strengthen the ‘brand Gujarat’ as a globally preferred business location,” he said.

Maruti Suzuki will set up two units in two phases in the backward taluka of Mandal-Becharaji in Ahmedabad district.

The first unit (1st phase) will be near the historical town of Becharaji and the second unit (2nd phase) will come up at a location,about 25 kilometres from Becharaji.

“Manufacturing and engineering sector in Gujarat contributes over 27 per cent to state GSDP and overall 9 per cent to the national engineering output,” Modi said.

“There are more than 30 engineering clusters and more clusters are emerging like Sanand- Viramgam,Mandal-Becharaji,Halol-Savli,Anjar,Santhalpur. This will make Gujarat a global hub in the engineering sector as a whole,” Modi further said.

Shinzo Nakanishi,Managing Director,Maruti Suzuki said Gujarat and India are rapidly emerging as best markets for automobiles.

Maruti and the Gujarat government have also decided to set up a state-of-the-art automobile research institute,the company said.