Maruti Suzuki Chairman RC Bhargava urges faster reforms for easier business, predicts car industry growth

New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki India Ltd Chairman RC Bhargava has urged the Centre and state governments to proceed faster on the road of reforms and increase efforts to make doing business easier, while requesting all political parties to support reforms and programmes that create wealth.

In his message to shareholders in the company's annual report for 2025-26, the veteran industry leader also noted that the government, and the opposition, should "ensure that the additional resources that would be generated would be used to create a more equitable and just society".

Bhargava also said that considering how the car industry has grown post GST2.0, there could be some changes in the company's longer-term target and "presently, we are estimating that the car industry would grow to 6.1 to 6.3 million by FY 2030-31 and that the share of the small car market would grow significantly faster than what had happened in the last five years".


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He also reiterated the company's stand on the need to use multiple technologies to achieve the goal of moving to net zero in India, while highlighting that biogas, which can be generated in large quantities from locally available resources, could be a "substitute for imported CNG and be clean and renewable with zero import content".

"Despite the Iran-US war that has adversely affected most global economies, the Indian economy continues to do well and remains the fastest growing among larger countries," he wrote in the address.

GST collections, despite rates of tax being reduced on over 90 per cent of products, have shown buoyancy and reached new high levels, Bhargava said, adding "without GST reforms we may not have done so well in the difficult months that have elapsed".

While congratulating "the Prime Minister, the finance minister and all other members of the government", he also said, "I would urge the government, including the State governments, to proceed faster on the road of reforms. Increase efforts to make doing business easier."

Use more technology as it has shown that it reduces corruption and delays. Time saving is a major factor in lowering costs of production, Bhargava said, adding "trust the private sector and the power of competition".

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Stating that 'faster creation of wealth, in the most efficient manner, is the only way that India can make up for the time that we have lost', he said, "This has been demonstrated by the automobile sector. Large employment opportunities have opened up in the economy due to the growth of a competitive automobile industry."

He further said, "My request to all political parties is to support reforms and programmes that create wealth. The government and the opposition should ensure that the additional resources that would be generated would be used to create a more equitable and just society."

Commenting on the growth prospects of the passenger vehicles industry, Bhargava said Maruti Suzuki "is in the process of making as accurate an estimate as possible of the likely growth of the car market in the next five years, a happy exercise necessitated by the GST reforms.

"This could lead to some changes in our longer-term targets. Presently, we are estimating that the car industry would grow to 6.1 to 6.3 million by FY 2030-31 and that the share of the small car market would grow significantly faster than what had happened in the last five years."

Overall, after the implementation of the new GST rates on September 22, 2025, Maruti Suzuki's retail sales grew 17 per cent in the second half of last year, he said, adding, "We ended March (2026) with 1.9 lakh pending bookings, a result of inadequate manufacturing capacity of the models in demand".

This was the consequence of adjustments made over the past several years to cater to the fall in small car sales and the growth of the SUV market, he noted.

Stating that the company is remedying the situation by making all its new production lines flexible enough to permit it to change platforms and models as may be required, Bhargava said this is already showing results.

In the first quarter of this year (FY27), the company's sales grew by 38 per cent, while industry grew 28 per cent, he noted.

"The sales of small cars grew 17 per cent in the second half of last year but grew 35 per cent in quarter 1 (FY27) this year as more cars required by customers could be produced," Bhargava said.

Commenting on the clean technology roadmap, he told the shareholders, "Your company has always maintained that in India we need to use multiple technologies to achieve our goal of moving to net zero."

He further said, "We strongly believe that biogas can be generated in large quantities from locally available resources. This form of energy would substitute for imported CNG and be clean and renewable with zero import content."

In addition, the Chairman of India's largest carmaker by volume, said there would be many valuable byproducts. Fermented organic manure, produced in the process, would not only increase the productivity of land but also improve soil quality.

"Crop burning could be avoided and that would not only help a cleaner environment but would also prevent harm to the soil microbes. The income of farmers would increase, and mechanization of harvesting and field preparation would be promoted," he noted.

Maruti Suzuki India has been working with the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa over the last two years, he said, adding "the preliminary report is consistent with what I have said".

Noting that the government has just announced a scheme called GOBARdhan to promote compressed biogas production, he said the company's board has approved starting four biogas plants in the 1st phase, at a cost of Rs 561 crores.

"Once we have learnt more about the process and technology, we hope to invest substantial amounts of money in the production and distribution of biogas. It will provide zero-emission fuel and reduce the pressure on CNG and on burning coal for generating electricity," he added.