Maruti Suzuki: Low-cost hybrid cars under works

Maruti Suzuki, along with its Japanese parent company Suzuki Motor, is reportedly working on developing low cost hybrid cars for developing markets like India. The automaker seems to acknowledge the fact that eco-friendly vehicles will eventually gain the customer's attention, even in markets like India where EVs and Hybrids aren't so popular in the current scene. Thus, the development plans are part of the automaker's aim to be ready with eco-friendly cars when the demand arises.

Maruti Suzuki has a wide presence in the small car segment of the country. As a result, even with the Hybrid tech, the automaker will be aiming to target the small car, low-cost marketplace. Interestingly, the Indian small car hybrid space hasn’t yet been explored by any other manufacturer, since companies like Toyota and Honda only have their contenders in the higher market segments. Thus the Japanese automaker and its Indian arm are trying to target this unrivalled domain with new low-cost hybrids.

Maruti Suzuki currently has a market share of over 47% in the Indian car market. It currently offers the SHVS mild-hybrid technology with the Ertiga and the Ciaz. There are no full-hybrid cars in Maruti's portfolio as of now.

Source: ET Auto