Maruti Suzuki is open to forming partnerships with auto part makers to secure its future supply chain and maintain its leadership position, the chairman of India’s top-selling carmaker said in an interview.

Partnering with suppliers in its early years contributed significantly to Maruti’s success in India, where it has a 43 per cent share of the car market, and also helped establish a supply chain for combustion engine cars, R.C. Bhargava told Reuters.

With a growing demand for more technology in cars and a shift to ‘greener’ powertrains such as electric and hybrid, automotive supply chains globally are changing and need large investments to keep pace.

“If required somewhere, we will get into a joint venture,” said Bhargava, when asked what role Maruti would play in setting up and securing its future supply chain.

The company, though, is yet to identify specific areas for an alliance, he said.

“We have done it in the past. Maruti built a very strong supply chain because we partnered vendors and have been working with them,” he said, adding that it has about 20 joint ventures with its suppliers.

Tata Motors plans

Tata Motors plans to bring in new products, expand existing model lineups as it aims to retain dominant position in the SUV segment.

The auto major, which sells models like Punch, Nexon, Harrier and Safari, also plans to bring in additional trims and variants.

“We plan to expand the SUV space by adding new nameplates/variants at regular intervals and expanding our consumer base,” Tata Motors passenger vehicles vice-president (sales, marketing and customer care) Rajan Amba said.