Maruti Suzuki’s first electric car: Launch timeline revealed

As we know that Suzuki is working on entering the electric vehicle market. What is new is that the manufacturer will be launching their first electric vehicle in India and then it will launch in other countries like Japan and Europe. According to Nikkei Asia’s report, Suzuki will be launching their first electric vehicle in FY 2025.

A Suzuki spokesperson said, “We have been saying that we will enter EV and strong hybrid cars in India by 2025,”. The vehicle should cost around Rs. 10.25 lakhs before government subsidies. The manufacturer earlier has raised a concern regarding the lack of charging infrastructure and high costs of production of electric vehicles.

This report contradicts the current rumours that say Maruti Suzuki might launch the electric vehicle by the end of next year. The manufacturer brought in multiple test mules from Japan to India for testing and development. They cleared the rumours that the vehicle was brought in India only for testing purposes and will not be launched in India.

Also read: Maruti Suzuki Discounts on Nexa cars for March 2021: Baleno to Ciaz

However, then what should be considered of the test mules that are based on the current WagonR and are electric. The new test mules have been spotted in our country without any camouflage. They do look production-ready considering that the interior and exterior looked complete with proper headlamps and tail lamps. The only thing that was missing in the spy shots was an infotainment system which could have been added afterwards quite easily. So, it is still not clear why the reports say that Suzuki will be launching the electric vehicle in FY 2025.

Maruti Suzuki focusing on CNG vehicles

Electric vehicles cost a lot in manufacturing as the raw materials cost quite a bit. For instance, electric motors and Lithium-ion batteries. There is a lot of development that goes into making an electric vehicle. Then there is the lack of charging infrastructure in India which is another big obstacle in our country.

The manufacturer has the largest line-up of CNG vehicles in its portfolio. They are offering Ertiga, Eeco, S-Presso, WagonR, Alto 800 and the Celerio with a factory-fitted CNG. They are also working on a CNG variant of the Dzire which was recently spied. The compact sedan is expected to launch in January 2022 or before.

With the rising fuel prices, the sales of CNG vehicles is also increasing. Hyundai also offers the Aura Grand i10 Nios and the Santro with a factory-fitted CNG. Then there is Tata Motors who is also working on CNG variants of Tigor and the Tiago.

Maruti also working on hybrid vehicles

The manufacturer also offers mild-hybrid technology with the Ertiga, Baleno, XL6, S-Cross, Ciaz and Vitara Brezza. The upcoming vehicles that Maruti Suzuki will be launching will also come with mild-hybrid technology. There will also be some strong hybrid vehicles that we can expect from them. They will be taking help from Toyota for the hybrid technology. The hybrid technology will help in saving fuel and reducing emissions.

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