You can’t make up for it even if you try. A plane crash, a mother’s (and prime minister’s) love for her son, brilliant bureaucrats who had no idea about the car business they were leading, and a stubborn and headstrong Japanese entrepreneur willing to take a huge gamble. , and a twisted story. Fate and lots of luck. Although it sounds like a Hollywood script full of intrigue, this is the true fairy tale story of how Maruti came to be. The company became the car company that brought the tiny Maruti 800 to India much like the Ford Model T did in America in the early 20th century and the Volkswagen Beetle did in Europe after World War II.
Maruti was born in unique circumstances, which is what makes its story so fascinating. This company was born out of late Indira Gandhi’s desire to establish a national automobile company as a memorial to his son. Sanjay Gandhi tried his hand at car business, failed, and tragically died in a plane crash in 1980. But his death made his mother determined to fulfill her son’s dream of building cars for indigenous people. Yes, it is true that her being Prime Minister helped her. Minister of India at the time.
What would have happened if Sanjay Gandhi had not died in that fateful plane crash? Maruti as a car company as we know it today would probably never have come to fruition. However, it was done in complete contradiction to national policy.
Who could have imagined that the Indian government would be involved in the production of automobiles, an obvious symbol of luxury that was in direct opposition to the socialist and planned economic environment of the time? In fact, Maruti was not planned at all but a personal project close to the Prime Minister’s heart.
Maruti Udyog was founded in 1981, led by some of the brightest minds in the public sector, none of whom knew how to set up a car company. Chairman V Krishnamurthy and his Director of Sales and Marketing who was then MD for 12 years, his RC Bhargava, as a beginner, he wrote one book on ‘World Cars’ which will guide you in finding the right partner. I started by just reading it.
The search for a partner is also a story full of drama and ultimately a twist of fate. Global car giants such as Fiat, Peugeot, Volkswagen, Renault and Nissan knocked on the door, but after all of them turned down Maruti, believing that there was no future in India’s non-existent car industry, Daihatsu became the most likely candidate. He emerged as a candidate.
When Osamu Suzuki learned of this news, he immediately dispatched a team to India to negotiate a contract. Suzuki was willing to bet on India’s potential and did not want to lose the opportunity to partner with Maruti, so they quickly signed a joint venture agreement on October 2, 1982. And the rest, as they say, is history.
In a record 14 months, a brand new factory, supplier base, dealer and distribution network was established. Indira Gandhi’s pet projects were given immediate permission, and unlike other public sector enterprises, politicians and bureaucrats had no say in the project. In fact, thanks to Mrs Gandhi, the company is one of the companies that was given a red carpet rather than red tape to meet the deadline for the launch of its first car. And that deadline happened to be Sanjay Gandhi’s birthday.
Exactly 40 years ago, on December 14, 1983, Indian Airlines employee Harpal Singh was handed the keys to the first Maruti 800 by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Little did he know, India’s roads would never be the same again.
The Maruti 800 captured the imagination of motorists who had previously had to make do with expensive, outdated and unreliable cars. For the first time, cars were seen not as a luxury but as a right to personal mobility. After 30 years of enduring Padminis and Ambassadors, technology-hungry car owners were charmed by basic features like floor-shifting gears, bucket seats, and working wipers. It felt like the future had fallen into their laps.
This little 800 was a miracle machine, and a bigger hit than the company could have ever imagined.people were willing to pay twice as much as officials INR50,000 to skip the queue and get your hands on this futuristic little Suzuki. This little car was so easy to drive that more women got behind the wheel for the first time, and families discovered the joy of driving a reliable, easy-to-use car. The 800 was originally designed for the manicured streets of Japanese cities, but beyond that purpose it was also used for long drives packed with parents, kids, luggage, pets, and more. Suddenly, India started moving.
A few years ago, I acquired a used Maruti 800 (SS80), one of the original 50,000 built, to keep a piece of history in my garage. Of course, in today’s digitally driven world, driving this vehicle to celebrate its 40th anniversary felt outdated, but its core value of providing honest transportation to the masses is clear .
The humble 800 was not just a pioneering car, it was the car that single-handedly steered the Indian automobile industry. No other car has left such a legacy behind.
Hormazd Sorabjee is the editor of Autocar India.The views expressed are personal