Maruti Suzuki India Limited, formerly known as Maruti Udyog Limited, is an Indian automobile manufacturer, based in New Delhi. It was founded in 1981 and owned by the Government of India until 2003, when it was sold to the Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corporation. As of September 2022 Maruti Suzuki has a market share of 42 percent in the Indian passenger car market. History Maruti Udyog Limited was founded by the Government of India on 24 Jan 1981 with Suzuki Motor Corporation as a minor partner, only to become the formal JV partner and license holder of Suzuki in August 2021. The first manufacturing factory of Maruti was established in Gurugram, Haryana, in the same year. Chronology Affiliation with Suzuki In 1982, a license and joint venture agreement (JVA) was signed between Maruti Udyog Ltd., and Suzuki of Japan. At first, Maruti Suzuki was mainly an importer of cars. In India's closed market, Maruti received the right to import 2 fully built-up Suzuki in the first two years, and even after that, the early goal was to use only 33% indigenous parts. This upset the local manufacturers considerably. There were some concerns that the Indian market was too small to absorb the comparatively large production planned by Maruti Suzuki, with the government even considering adjusting the petrol tax and lowering the excise duty in order to boost sales. Local production commenced in December 1983 with the introduction of the SS30/SS40 Suzuki Fronte/Alto-based Maruti 800. In 1984, the Maruti Van with the same three-cylinder engine as the 800 was released and the installed capacity of the plant in Gurgaon reached 40,000 units. In 1985, the Suzuki SJ410-based Gypsy a 970 cc 4WD off-road vehicle, was launched. In 1986, the original 800 was replaced by an all-new model of the 796 cc hatchback Suzuki Alto (SS80), and the 100,000th vehicle was produced by the company. In 1987, the company started exporting to western markets, when a lot of 500 cars were sent to Hungary. By 1988, the capacity of the Gurgaon plant was increased to 100,000 units per annum. Market liberalisation In 1989, the Maruti 1000 was introduced and the 970 cc, three-box was India's first contemporary sedan. By 1991, 65 percent of the components, for all vehicles produced, were indigenized. After the liberalization of the Indian economy in 1991, Suzuki increased its stake in Maruti to 50 percent, making the company