Toyota has revealed to be working on a new pure electric vehicle (EV) that will be an India-specific model along with Suzuki.
Prototypes of the new pure EV could hit the Indian roads sometime next year.
Currently, the manufacturer is working on component engineering. As of now, not much is known about this new pure electric vehicle.
In January this year, we reported that Maruti Suzuki and Toyota are co-developing an electric crossover. Toyota pure EV and Maruti’s electric vehicle may be the same vehicle or share a lot of components.
Maruti Suzuki has codenamed the new electric crossover YY8. Toyota’s version could be priced slightly higher than the YY8 considering that all the re-badged vehicles were priced slightly higher.
The design of the SUV is expected to look futuristic and will be a big departure from current Maruti Suzuki vehicles. Moreover, Toyota would not just rebadge the vehicle, Instead, they will have their design. Just like they are doing with the new mid-size SUVs.
The SUV will measure 4,275 mm in length, 1,880 mm in width and will have a height of 1,640 mm. So, it is larger than Hyundai Creta and Tata Nexon EV.
The wheelbase of the SUV will measure 2,700 mm which is even longer than the Skoda Kushaq and Volkswagen Taigun.
The new platform is an electric skateboard platform that helps in making such a long wheelbase.
Another benefit of the electric skateboard platform is that there will be no transmission tunnel and engine compartment. So, there would be an ample amount of space for the occupants. The platform is derived from Toyota’s 40PL platform that is used on global electric vehicles.
There would be two sizes of battery packs. The smaller battery pack would measure 48 kWh whereas the larger one would have a capacity of 59 kWh.
The launch of the new SUVs will happen in 2024-2025.
The pricing is not yet known. However, Maruti could price the YY8 at around Rs. 13 lakhs whereas Toyota’s counterpart could be priced slightly higher.
