[volkman10]

Suzuki Motor working on affordable hybrid for small cars, Maruti to consider plug-in hybrids too.

The top management stated that HQ Suzuki is working on an affordable hybrid solution for the compact cars and it will seriously consider the more expensive plug-in hybrid technology for the future.

R C Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki :

A lot of work is going on in Suzuki Japan on evolving better technology which will enable smaller cars to take advantage of the principles of hybridization to improve fuel economy and at a much more affordable cost. If that is aligned with lower GST also, I think you can look forward to small cars with much higher mileage than what they have today

Given that Maruti Suzuki is also expanding its portfolio into higher priced mid-size SUVs, a plug-in hybrid is also a potential being explored for the future.

This would essentially mean, Maruti Suzuki could offer a complete range of hybrid solutions – right from affordable series hybrid (being developed by Suzuki, current strong parallel hybrid from Toyota and a plug-in hybrid if the study concludes favourably.


Link:

[TusharK]

The market for electric vehicles in India has grown rapidly in the past few years, with Tata Motors leading the charge. However, India's largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, is yet to take the plunge in this growing segment. Besides, the carmaker is also betting big on hybrids.



According to R C Bhargava, Chairman of Maruti Suzuki, Suzuki Japan is developing an affordable strong-hybrid technology for the Indian market, as the cost of the hybrid tech offered by Toyota is still quite expensive.

“The cost of the technology which goes into the Toyota hybrids is still quite high, and that is why the cost of the car becomes high. Work is ongoing in Suzuki Japan on evolving better [strong hybrid] technology, which will enable smaller cars to take advantage of the principles of hybridisation to improve fuel economies at a much more affordable cost. You can look forward to small cars with much better mileage than what they have today. It all depends on how quickly and how effectively Suzuki Japan can develop a technology, which is robust and which will give the kind of results we want. At the moment, it's not there”, Bhargava said.

Currently, Maruti Suzuki has two strong-hybrid models on sale - the Grand Vitara and Invicto. Both cars use Toyota technology and are priced from Rs 18.43 lakh (ex-showroom). Bhargava believes the demand for these cars will improve if the government reduces the GST levied on hybrid vehicles, which has been set at 43%.

Source: Car and Bike

Link to Team-BHP News

[ssoni.1411]

Kudos to Maruti for this approach. They know India is still developing their EV infrastructure and hence, hybrid engines are an excellent choice. If they manage to build an affordable hybrid tech, then they are going to be at the pole position. Plus the government reducing the taxes on hybrid will be the icing on the cake. I just hope they can somehow sort out the boot space that the hybrid battery pack occupies.

[SKC-auto]

Originally Posted by TusharK

“The cost of the technology which goes into the Toyota hybrids is still quite high, and that is why the cost of the car becomes high. Work is ongoing in Suzuki Japan on evolving better [strong hybrid] technology, which will enable smaller cars to take advantage of the principles of hybridisation to improve fuel economies at a much more affordable cost.

Curious to know how they can reduce costs compared to a Toyota hybrid.

Both series and parallel Hybrids( Toyota or Honda implantation) require 2 motors, 1 ICE engine, 1 inverter, 1 battery. Only thing Suzuki seems to be saving is a planetary gearset as compared to Toyota hybrid or a clutch compared to a Honda hybrid..

[ferrarirules]

Originally Posted by TusharK

The cost of the technology which goes into the Toyota hybrids is still quite high

25 year old technology which supposedly uses fraction of the "rare earth materials" than a BEV still cannot be cheaper than Petrol (higher GST) car (Creta vs Hyryder vs Grand Vitara).

My issues with this

1. I seriously doubt that they can better the hybrid technology which has been proven by Toyota for last 25 years. Why reinvent the wheel?
2. They should be looking at researching plugin hybrid rather than strong hybrid. Why invest in something which is towards a sunset?

The only thing works in their favour is that people will buy anything Maruti makes just due to its name even if it is a car like S-Presso (No offence to S-Presso owners)

[shortbread]

Originally Posted by SKC-auto

Curious to know how they can reduce costs compared to a Toyota hybrid.

By not having to pay Toyota licensing fees, royalties etc., and having influence over its own suppliers.

[chiekennugget]

One car that comes to my mind with this technology is the BMW i3 REX. People have pretty mixed experiences with it. Some people are doing 1,00,000km+ no problem while others have nothing but problems.

I think the initial models (2015 I guess) had a lot of problems but the later ones are really good.

https://www.mybmwi3.com has some nice discussions about it.

The file attached describes the range extender/REX system. (got it from the forum

[som2024]

Actually it's a logical move by Maruti Suzuki. Switching to Hybrid will economical and affordable in comparison to EV.

*It will ensure lower running cost.
*Envrironment friendly-low CO2 emission.
*No charging required.
*Better driving all around.
*No change on how to drive.


Global Suzuki has a number of Hybrids like Ignis, Swift, Vitara, S-Cross,Swace, Across, and they will convert the existing models also.