Maruti Suzuki reveals its EV plans for India

R.C. Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India Limited has revealed more details about the company's plans regarding electric vehicles (EV), battery production and infrastructure development.

The government of India has already announced that 40% of all vehicles sold in India must be electric by 2030. While it may sound like an ambitious target, Maruti Suzuki has started planning for the future where around 4 million electric vehicles will be on Indian roads.

However, it is not the end of the road for internal combustion engines (ICE). According to Mr. Bhargava, petrol and diesel powered vehicles will stay, mostly in the form of hybrids. Millions of non-electric cars will be sold before the market completely shifts to all-electric. Then, there are engines like small diesel hybrids that might not be feasible going forward, compared to equivalent petrol hybrids.

Maruti is set to release its first electric car in India in 2020. Maruti will handle sales, service and recycling of these vehicles, while parent company Suzuki and its partner Toyota will handle the technology side of things. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Suzuki and Toyota was initially aimed at developing hybrid, electric and fuel cell vehicles however the focus has now shifted to EVs. 

It is still unclear whether Maruti's first EV will be built in India. The batteries though will be manufactured at Suzuki's new facility in Gujarat. Maruti will also be setting up charging infrastructure. It is not known if these charging facilities will be provided at authorized Maruti Suzuki dealerships and service stations or as standalone charging points.

Reiterating Maruti Suzuki's commitment to electric vehicles, Mr. Bhargava said that the company intends to launch a customer survey in the coming weeks and will chalk out a strategy depending on customer inputs.

Source: Overdrive