Kamal Ghorui
Maruti Suzuki India today announced that it has dispatched more than 5.85 lakh vehicles by rail in calendar year 2025, marking an 18% increase over 2024. The higher use of rail transport helped the carmaker avoid an estimated 87,904 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions and save over 687 lakh litres of fuel during the year. The company’s reliance on rail for outbound logistics has expanded sharply over the past decade. Rail’s share in total vehicle dispatches has risen more than fivefold, from 5.1% in 2016 to around 26% in 2025. In absolute terms, rail-based dispatch volumes have grown over 7.5 times, increasing from nearly 77,000 units in 2016 to more than 5.85 lakh units in 2025.Maruti Suzuki India Limited has been an early adopter of rail-based vehicle transportation, becoming the first automobile manufacturer in India to secure an Automobile-Freight-Train-Operator licence in 2013. Since FY2014–15, the company has transported over 28 lakh vehicles by rail from 22 dispatch points, serving more than 600 cities across the country through a hub-and-spoke model.
At present, Maruti Suzuki operates over 45 flexi-deck rakes, each capable of carrying around 260 vehicles per trip. In CY2025, rail dispatches from the company’s in-plant railway sidings at its Gujarat and Manesar facilities accounted for 53% of its total rail movement. The continued shift towards rail logistics has helped the automaker reduce carbon emissions, lower dependence on road transport, ease congestion, and cut fuel consumption, reinforcing railways as a key pillar of its long-term sustainability strategy.
Maruti Suzuki also operates India’s first in-plant railway siding at its manufacturing facility in Gujarat. The in-plant railway siding at Maruti Suzuki’s Gujarat facility enables the movement of up to three lakh vehicles every year to 15 locations nationwide. According to the company, the fully electrified siding is expected to reduce annual carbon emissions by around 1,650 metric tonnes. The shift to rail transport will also significantly lower road usage, with an estimated reduction of up to 50,000 truck trips annually, helping save nearly 35 million litres of fossil fuel each year.Speaking on the feat, Mr. Hisashi Takeuchi, MD & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, said, “The year 2025 marks our highest-ever rail dispatch, with over 5.85 lakh units. During the year, we strengthened our green logistic efforts through two landmark events– the inauguration of India’s largest automobile in-plant railway siding at our Manesar facility, and second was we dispatched vehicles by rail to Kashmir valley through the world’s highest railway arch bridge over Chenab river, a first by any automobile manufacturer. Our mid-term goal is to increase rail-based vehicle dispatches to 35% by FY 2030-31#, contributing to India’s net-zero ambition by 2070.”He added, “Maruti Suzuki India Limited has adopted a comprehensive ‘Circular Mobility’ approach to sustainability, aiming to reduce its carbon footprint across the entire vehicle lifecycle—from design and production to logistics and end-of-life vehicle (ELV) management”
