The chairman of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. has said that electric vehicles are “a priority objective” for the company, but they have not yet launched a product in the nascent but fast-growing automotive segment.
“We are in the process of introducing EVs. Our first EV model will be in production and out for sale in a few months’ time,” RC Bhargava, chairman of the New Delhi-based carmaker, said during the company’s 43rd annual general meeting . The car, in its production guise, is likely to be showcased at the auto expo next year. “We will be exporting the EVs to Europe and Japan. Over the next 6-7 years, we will be adding a total of six EV models to our portfolio.”
Maruti Suzuki has so far opted to watch India’s EV scene develop from the sidelines, despite smaller rival Tata Motors Ltd. gaining an advantage to the point where its EV division is now a billion-dollar industry. Currently, the Tata emblem can be seen on the hood of almost three out of every four electric cars manufactured in India.
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. is currently in the “advanced stages” of initiating the manufacturing of its range of SUVs that are born-electric. It only sells the XUV 4OO electric SUV at retail right now.
South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd., which has filed for an India IPO due later this year, plans to launch an electric variant of its best-selling Creta SUV in January 2025.
Tata Motors itself has doubled down on its EV focus. It has entered the lucrative mid-size SUV segment with an electric powertrain and plans to have a battery-powered variant of all its offerings by next year. Maruti Suzuki, meanwhile, has chosen the middle path—that of hybrid vehicles. If numbers are anything to go by, that strategy is working: only five strong-hybrid cars—four of them products of ‘Suzuki-Toyota’ cross-badging—outsold all electric cars in India in 2024. “The importance of hybrid cars is obvious. Hybrid cars are not in conflict with EVs,” Bhargava said at the AGM.