Maruti Suzuki is India’s largest passenger car company. It is also the country’s biggest car exporter. With its mass market expertise, people expected Maruti to be a major player in India’s EV market and rule not just the domestic but global market with the company’s trademark ‘affordable’ quality cars in an electric avatar. But at present, Tata Motors is dominating the Indian electric car market. Maruti, on the other hand, is betting on CNG & hybrids and has delayed its EV plans till 2024-25.
Maruti Suzuki currently offers CNG variants in 9 models: Swift, Swift DZire, Alto, Alto K10, Celerio, WagonR, Eeco, Ertiga and S-Presso.
The Hybrid Way:
The company has recently launched the Grand Vitara in two versions: mild hybrid & strong hybrid. The car has been received well by the Indian audience. Maruti’s strategy is to use hybrids as a bridge between conventional combustion engine cars and electric vehicles while the Indian EV ecosystem develops. The company currently has 5 mild hybrid cars (branded by Maruti as ‘Smart Hybrid Cars’) in its portfolio: Ertiga, Vitara Brezza, Ciaz, XL6 & the new Grand Vitara. The only strong hybrid (branded as ‘Intelligent Electric Hybrid Cars’) in the company’s portfolio is the Grand Vitara.
The First Brush With Electric:
In a bid to mark its presence in the exciting Indian EV market, will unveil a concept electric SUV at the upcoming Auto Expo 2023. Tentatively called ‘YY8’, this all-electric SUV is said to resemble the Grand Vitara. The automaker will be displaying only the concept version at the expo, and its production version is likely to be launched in 2025.
While the YY8 is intended to be a global product, it will be locally manufactured at Suzuki’s manufacturing plant in Gujarat. A strategic attempt to localise the EVs is being made courtesy the upcoming battery plant in Gujarat.
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Maruti’s sales are mostly driven by relatively affordable cars, but the company will target the upper segment of the market with its first electric car. A while back, an electric version of the WagonR was spotted testing on roads, but that plan seems to have been shelved or moved to the back burner.
Conclusion:
Maruti Chairman Mr.RC Bhargava gave a statement: “Volumes matter a lot and if 10,000 units cannot be sold each month, a Maruti EV won’t make sense.” This pretty much sums up Maruti’s strategy and patience. The company is waiting for the EV market to mature or at least be on the cusp of evolution before it takes a dive.
