1908. There was a young man in Enshu, where the textile industry thrived, Michio Suzuki. He was only 21 at the time. Later, he would become the founder of Suzuki. Michio handmade a foot loom. It was the start of Suzuki's history. 1952, the company launched Power Free, an auxiliary bicycle engine. 1955, Suzulight was launched. It was lightweight and easy to drive. It was the start of Suzuki's history in compact cars. 1965, an outboard motor was launched.
1974, an electrically powered wheelchair was launched. 1979 gave birth to Alto. The standard nationwide price has been set at JPY 470,000 in cash. This car won critical acclaim from the public. Alto opened one door after another, opening up markets around the world. 1981, a partnership was formed with General Motors. In 1982, the company entered the market in India. 1991, the company broke into the market in Hungary.
It is our motto to deliver value-packed products by focusing on the customer, which has shaped the history of Suzuki. Suzuki continues taking on challenges with the same philosophy in this age of carbon neutrality. Suzuki's mobility solutions will always stand by our customers' side, delivering excitement in everyday life.
Happy New Year, everyone. I am Suzuki, President of the company. A year and a half has passed since we established our new management system, we have implemented a variety of initiatives in various fields. I have prepared a summary of our business, my talk will be centered on our automotive business. At Suzuki, we have operated our business prioritizing the motto to develop products of superior value by focusing on the customer. We hope to continue providing value-packed products to our customers.
At the heart of our growth strategy, aimed at FY 2030, is the realization of a carbon-neutral society centered on Suzuki's main markets in Japan, India, and Europe. To contribute to the economic growth of underdeveloped regions, including India, ASEAN, and in Africa. We will strive to offer Suzuki-style solutions by developing products and services with a focus on customers and growing hand in hand with the countries and regions we operate in.
I'm going to talk about these four themes. First is an introduction to Suzuki's history and achievements. As we just saw, the founder, Michio Suzuki, made a loom for his mother to make her work easier, which led to the establishment of Suzuki Loom Works. This desire to provide whatever your customer needs was Suzuki's founding principle. Starting with looms, the company went on to launch numerous other businesses.
The Power Free was a bicycle fitted with a motor, launched in 1952, it was hugely popular, allowing users to easily travel long distances. This was the start of Suzuki's business in motorcycles. Suzulight, Japan's first mass-produced mini-vehicle, was launched three years later to break into the automotive market. This was followed by the launch of outboard motors and electrically powered wheelchairs, which continue being produced to this day.
The birth of Alto in 1979 established the market for mini-vehicles in Japan. This led to a partnership with General Motors and selection as a partner in India's National Auto Policy, under which a joint venture was established. Suzuki's overseas expansion was a huge step forward for the company. Suzuki's reputation in India also spread to Hungary, allowing the company to establish a plant in Europe.
We currently operate in 208 countries and regions around the world and hold the number one share of the market in automobiles in 12 countries. We have grown to win the support of many customers. We have engaged in on-site production to contribute to economic development and grow hand in hand with overseas local communities by expanding markets through products and services to meet local needs. We have also contributed to the cultivation of local industries and creation of employment through on-site procurement of components.
We will continue operating our mobility business centered on automobiles and provide products and services that are women-friendly and elderly-friendly, and support our customers' lives and work. As for automotive markets up to 2050, we expect them to remain static or stagnate in developed countries in Europe and Japan due to aging or decreasing populations and declining birth rates.
Emerging countries are growing in importance, with India becoming the most heavily populated country in the world by 2023. Their population and economy will continue to grow, as will their automotive market. Moreover, the population of Africa is expected to overtake India in the future. We will respond to regional needs upon taking Suzuki's business development and various market forecasts into account. As I explained at the start, we will implement initiatives adapted to local conditions in regions where Suzuki's main markets are.
To serve the 10.7 million users of Suzuki cars in Japan, we will continue cooperating in sales and maintenance services with our network of private dealers. We will strive to maintain our 30% share of the market in mini-vehicles and expand sales of compact cars, while also focusing on new technologies and forms of mobility.
In Europe, we will gather and disseminate information by competing on the market to obtain primary information on technologies, regulations, and the industry. In India, we celebrated our 40th anniversary in August last year. We will continue devoting ourselves to learning and take this opportunity to become firmly established within the community.
We will do this through exchanges and joint development with R&D centers, innovation centers, and universities, as well as cooperation with R&D institutes in India. We will expand the scope of our production, sales, and services by exceeding the expectations of Indian society and customers in aiming to acquire a 50% share of the market. India will also play a bigger role in becoming the center of production for Europe, Asia, Africa, and other regions.
We will cooperate with the Toyota Group and accelerate initiatives based on know-how cultivated in India in the promising market of Africa, where sales have expanded by more than 150% year-on-year. Now, I would like to talk about our initiatives to realize carbon neutrality. Suzuki will aim to realize carbon neutrality by 2050 in Japan and Europe, and by 2070 in India, in accordance with the targets set by various countries.
We will continue efforts to achieve the carbon neutrality targets of different regions based on the idea of expanding our selection of products and services to meet local needs. Of the overall CO2 emitted by business activities, around 80% is emitted during the use of products, and in turn, about 90% of this is emitted by automobiles. I will now explain the products we plan to develop to reduce CO2 emissions during product use.
In Japan, we plan to introduce Compact SUVs, starting with commercial mini vehicle battery EVs in financial year 2023, and launch six models by financial year 2030. We will develop new hybrids for mini and compact vehicles, and by combining them with battery EVs, we will offer a variety of options for our customers.
In Europe, we will introduce EVs in financial year 2024, then expand to SUVs and the B-segment with the launch of five models by financial year 2030. We will respond flexibly to environmental regulations and customer needs in each country in Europe. In India, we will introduce the battery EV concept car announced in financial year 2024 and launch six models by financial year 2030.
At the FFV event held in India at the end of last year, the Indian Minister of Road Transport and Highways announced plans to implement a full range of initiatives in CNG, biogas, electric, and ethanol-powered vehicles in aiming for carbon neutrality. Suzuki, too, plans to continue developing hybrid and internal combustion engine vehicles to offer a variety of products and services. Furthermore, CNG, biogas, and ethanol-mixed fuels are expected to be used in internal combustion engine vehicles.
Motorcycles have limited space available for installing batteries, and the increase in weight will hinder performance, posing numerous issues in electrification alone to achieve carbon neutrality. For small and mid-sized motorcycles used as daily transport for commuting to work, school, or to go shopping, we will introduce a battery EV in financial year 2024 and launch eight models by financial year 2030.
On the other hand, we are considering adopting carbon-neutral fuels for larger motorcycles for leisure purposes, such as touring and enjoying riding itself. There is a need for greater care in adapting outboard motors to carbon neutrality because problems have the potential to cause serious accidents compared to automobiles and motorcycles. For small outboard motors, often used on lakes and rivers, we will introduce battery EVs in financial year 2024 and launch five models by financial year 2030.
For large outboard motors used on the ocean, we are considering adopting carbon-neutral fuels. To address environmental issues, Suzuki began activities for the Suzuki Clean Ocean Project in 2010. Efforts are being made to remove floating plastic waste from the ocean and rivers by cleaning coastal areas, switching to paper packaging, and using microplastic collecting devices on outboard motors. We will continue these activities in the future.
In the field of electrification, we plan to invest around JPY 2 trillion by 2030. Of this amount, we expect battery-related investments to reach JPY 500 billion in light of the plan described earlier, including the amount publicized in March last year. Furthermore, we began producing our own batteries in 2021 at TDSG, a joint venture formed with Toshiba and Denso.
We will make use of this know-how to examine the specifications of batteries for various battery EVs and boost battery performance. We will ascertain future trends in markets and technologies in aiming to establish an optimal system for procuring internally and externally produced batteries. Suzuki will also take on the challenges of new electric mobility.
Suzuki has proposed a variety of electric mobility options, including the electric Senior Car for people who have voluntarily returned their driver's licenses, KUPO, which is an evolved form of the Senior Car, and the Mobile Mover, a multipurpose robotic dolly being developed with M2 Labo. We will take on the challenges of small mobility, which supports our lives in new market segments created by the diversification of customer needs and changes in the environment.
I want to talk about the sector in automotive manufacturing. Suzuki will take on the challenges of achieving carbon neutrality at domestic plants by financial year 2035. We are promoting Suzuki Smart Factory Creation based on our vision of how manufacturing should be in financial year 2030, so that we can continue to be a company that ensures people's mobility worldwide.
By combining Suzuki's manufacturing principle of smaller, fewer, lighter, shorter, beauty with digitalization, we will optimize, minimize, and simplify the flow of data, things, and energy to achieve carbon neutrality. Interconnecting and visualizing data from factories and manufacturing processes will allow early detection of signs of changes in quality, more accurate ascertainment of the operational status of equipment, and so on, eliminating waste by minimizing the use of energy, optimizing the use of raw materials, and streamlining logistics.
Factory data will be shared with other departments involved in product planning, sales, procurement, development, quality control, and so on, to bolster coordination in developing and providing valuable products and services. Centered on these initiatives, we will continue reducing CO2 emissions and deliver valuable products and services to our customers. I'd like to introduce two examples of initiatives being implemented at Kosai Plant, our largest production hub in Japan.
First is our effort to reduce CO2 emission at painting facilities by 30% through the renewal of painting equipment and improvement of painting technologies for efficient and optimal use of energy. We have been taking on the challenges of deploying compact equipment and new low-CO2 paints, as well as thorough recycling of energy and the active adoption of new technologies, such as the use of hydrogen and other alternative fuels.
Second is our utilization of hydrogen. Green hydrogen is made from renewable energy, including solar power, and in turn, the hydrogen has been used since the end of last year as fuel in verification tests on cargo carriers. In the future, there are also plans to deploy green hydrogen burners in the painting process with the aim of using the gas as a source of energy at factories to promote carbon neutrality.
I'd like to talk about our Hamamatsu Plant. In the medium-term management plan publicized in February 2021, we promised to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, we will accelerate this initiative. We will eliminate waste, make use of waste heat, and optimize air conditioning to promote energy saving and reduce CO2 emissions by 30%.
We will expand our solar power generation facilities and make use of CO2 free power by switching to renewable energy to cut CO2 emissions by 50%. The remaining 20% will be achieved through the use of carbon credits to offset our carbon footprint. These initiatives will allow early achievement of carbon neutrality at Hamamatsu Plant by financial year 2027. This knowhow will be applied to other plants in striving to achieve the carbon neutrality of all domestic plants by financial year 2035.
I want to talk about our initiatives in India, which is one of our main markets. We expect the number of cars sold on the overall Indian market to double by financial year 2030 from the current 3 million. That means an increase in total CO2 emissions will be unavoidable even if emissions are reduced in individual cars. We will take on the challenges of striking a balance between boosted sales and reducing total CO2 emissions.
To achieve this, Suzuki is implementing a unique initiative in producing and supplying biogas derived from cow dung, a waste product of dairy farming found mainly in India's rural areas. This biogas can be used directly in Suzuki's CNG vehicles that account for approximately 70% of India's market in CNG cars. Does everyone know the cattle population of India?
It is said to be around 300 million, which is the biggest or second biggest in the world. Dung collected from 10 head of cattle per day can produce enough biogas to power one CNG car for a day. Methane is extracted from biogas generated by fermenting cow dung, which is compressed to make biogas that can replace CNG.
Using this biogas as fuel emits CO2, but it is made by recycling CO2 in the atmosphere, making it a carbon neutral fuel. Furthermore, it contributes to restricting the emission of methane into the atmosphere, which has a greenhouse effect 28 x greater than CO2. The remaining residue can also be used to make organic fertilizer.
According to the International Energy Agency, India's dependence on imported crude oil will climb to around 92% by 2040. The Indian government is aiming to achieve energy independence, for which biomass energy, including cow dung, has been attracting a lot of attention. In August last year, Suzuki signed an MoU with the Indian government agency, the National Dairy Development Board, to run a verification project on biogas.
In October last year, Suzuki invested in Fujisan Asagiri Biomass, a company that generates electricity from biogas based on cow dung, with the aim of gathering know-how. In December 2022, Suzuki signed an MoU with the National Dairy Development Board and Banas Dairy, Asia's largest dairy manufacturer, to launch a verification project. Banas Dairy already operates a biogas business based on their current milk collecting value chain across farming villages, making them the best partner for running this project.
We are also striving to develop technologies in cooperation with Fujisan Asagiri Biomass, as I mentioned before, as well as universities, venture businesses, and other companies to find solutions to issues in the gas business. We believe that the use of cow dung as a resource to make fuel and fertilizer, not only contributes to carbon neutrality, but also Indian society. We are also considering expanding the business to other agricultural regions in the future, including those in Africa, ASEAN, and Japan.
To Suzuki, the leader of India's automotive market, contributing to the carbon neutrality and economic growth of emerging countries is consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement, requiring cooperation between developed and emerging countries to reduce CO2 emissions. We believe we can contribute to our stakeholders throughout the world. Next, I'll talk about our resources for supporting future initiatives.
Suzuki has provided unique value by supporting and enriching people's daily lives. We hope to continue providing products with unique value at reasonable prices across all our businesses to meet the needs of customers, including products like Alto, that allows easy driving by anyone. Jimny, that can even meet the needs of professional users. Lapin, that customers can grow to love like sundries or furniture. Hayabusa, the ultimate sports bike.
Suzuki's headquarters, Yokohama R&D Center, Suzuki R&D Center India, and Maruti Suzuki will cooperate in developing future technologies, advanced technologies, and mass production technologies. Suzuki Innovation Center is also exploring new connections and innovations to firmly take root in India. We will enhance the power of our manufacturing by also cooperating with external partners, including startups, the Suzuki Suppliers Association, and collaborative industry academia research with universities in Japan and India.
As for our collaboration with Toyota, I will explain this later. For regional suppliers to deal with next-generation cars, Suzuki played a central role in establishing the Hamamatsu Next-generation vehicles Center within the Hamamatsu Agency for Innovation. Regional suppliers, Hamamatsu Next-generation vehicles Center, and Suzuki will collaborate in fields dealing with carbon neutrality, digital manufacturing, next-generation cars, and so on to bolster the power of regional industries.
The Research Association of Biomass Innovation for Next Generation Automobile Fuels we announced participation in last year is striving in technological research on effective low carbonization through the manufacturing of bioethanol for cars from plant materials and optimal cycling of hydrogen, oxygen, and CO2 during manufacturing. We will deepen cooperative ties with Toyota Motor Corporation while continuing to be a competitor and aim for sustainable growth and overcome various issues surrounding the automobile industry.
Through cooperation, we will contribute to the development of advanced technologies for autonomous driving and batteries for EVs and hybrid vehicles, as well as the expansion of businesses in promising emerging countries, realization of carbon neutrality in India, and establishment of an environmentally conscious recycling society. Suzuki Global Ventures, a corporate venture capital fund established last year, is accelerating co-creation activities with startup companies by reaching beyond the framework of each company and existing businesses.
We will make investments and form partnerships as necessary to solve customer and social issues in Japan as well as overseas and contribute to development of ecosystems that grow with startup companies. Regarding the investment of resources over eight years until financial year 2030, we will invest JPY 2 trillion in R&D and promote the development of advanced technologies of the future centered on CASE.
The R&D will revolve around the fields of carbon neutrality and autonomous driving, including electrification of battery EVs and hybrid vehicles and cow dung biogas in India. JPY 2.5 trillion is planned for investment by financial year 2030 in the construction of a BEV battery plant, solar power generation equipment, and other renewable energy facilities. Of the total of JPY 4.5 trillion invested, we will invest JPY 2 trillion in electrification related initiatives as I explained earlier.
The three-pronged approach in our basic policy for this fiscal year will consist of structural reforms, minimization of risks, and the planting of seeds for the future. This will be done to bolster our foundations so that we may continue to be a company that is sought after by people and society in the future as in the past.
The consolidated net sales forecast for financial year 2022 is JPY 4.5 trillion, which is growing at a pace exceeding the JPY 4.8 trillion target for financial year 2025 set in our medium-term management plan. We hope to grow alongside emerging countries by contributing to their growth. We will take on the challenges of doubling our financial year 2021 net sales of JPY 3.5 trillion to JPY 7 trillion in financial year 2030.
With our motto to deliver value-packed product by focusing on the customer, Suzuki will engage in activities by operating under the manufacturing principle of Smaller, Fewer, Lighter, Shorter, Beauty, or Sho-Sho-Kei-Tan-Bi, lean management, which emphasizes flexibility, agility, speed, and a challenging spirit, and the three actuals principle of eliminating impracticality and focusing on the actual place, actual thing, and actual situation.
In taking on the challenges of achieving carbon neutrality while also contributing to the growth of emerging countries during this once in a century time of great upheaval, Suzuki believes in the importance of products having a sense of excitement, energy, and uniqueness. Our automobiles, motorcycles, outboard motors, and electro senior vehicles have always received enthusiastic support from our customers by being practical, yet emotionally appealing.
Suzuki employees throughout the world will unite as one by continuing to take on challenges to deliver products and services that support the mobility of customers worldwide while being environmentally conscious and always by our customer's side as dependable partners in daily life.