Maruti Suzuki records highest-ever rail dispatches in 2025

Maruti Suzuki transported more than 5.85 lakh vehicles by rail in calendar year 2025, its highest rail dispatch volume to date. The figure represents an 18 percent increase compared to 2024 and highlights the growing role of railways in the company’s outbound logistics network.

Rail now accounts for nearly 26 per cent of Maruti Suzuki’s total vehicle dispatches, a sharp rise from 5.1 percent in 2016. In volume terms, rail-based dispatches have increased over seven times in the last decade, growing from around 77,000 units in 2016 to over 5.85 lakh units in 2025.

According to the company, the increased use of rail transport helped avoid close to 88,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions and resulted in fuel savings of more than 68 million litres during the year. The shift is also expected to have reduced road traffic load across key vehicle movement corridors.

Two notable developments marked Maruti Suzuki’s rail logistics operations in 2025. The company commissioned an in-plant railway siding at its Manesar facility, described as the largest of its kind for automobile manufacturing in India. It also dispatched vehicles by rail to the Kashmir Valley for the first time, routing them via the Chenab rail bridge.

Rail dispatches from Maruti Suzuki’s in-plant railway sidings at its Gujarat and Manesar plants together contributed 53 percent of the company’s total rail volumes in 2025, indicating a growing reliance on direct factory-linked rail infrastructure.

Maruti Suzuki has been using railways for vehicle transportation since 2013, when it became the first automaker in India to receive an Automobile Freight Train Operator licence. Since FY2014-15, the company has transported over 28 lakh vehicles by rail from 22 dispatch locations, covering more than 600 cities across the country. Its current rail operations include over 45 flexi-deck rakes, each capable of carrying approximately 260 vehicles per trip.

The company has indicated that it plans to further increase the share of rail in its outbound logistics to around 35 per cent by FY31.

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