Maruti chairman says understanding customers key to firm's 40-year success

From what started out as an "accident" doomed to fail to becoming a dominant force in the automotive industry, helping the country to become the fourth largest automobile market in the world, the success of Maruti Suzuki India needs to be replicated in other industries, according to its Chairman R C Bhargava.

As the company gears up to celebrate 40 years of operations, Bhargava said Maruti Suzuki India has played a significant role in the development of the country's automotive industry, supply chain of components and allied sectors which are now playing a major role in the global markets.

In an interview with PTI, he said India is generally ranked low globally when it comes to the overall manufacturing sector, but in automobiles the country is the fourth largest car manufacturer in the world. Also, the components industry last year exported USD 19 billion worth of items.

"So, some of these things have to be viewed in the context of what we added to that thing," he asserted, adding