Maruti Suzuki has chosen India as global manufacturing base: T Suzuki

Maruti Suzuki India which announced its entry into India's nascent EV market with the unveiling of the e Vitara at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo will be adopting a three-prong strategy for its EV business, Toshihiro Suzuki, Representative Director & President, Suzuki Motor Corporation said ahead of the unveiling.

"Based on our study, we aim to make BEVs (battery electric vehicles) attractive to customers through a three-step strategy – to develop a BEV-dedicated platform for optimum performance, evolve the right product for the target markets, based on the customer requirements and leverage our global economies of scale and concentrate manufacturing at a single location, for the world. For this purpose, we have chosen India as the global manufacturing base due to its quality products and scale merit," Suzuki said.

Maruti has invested Rs2100 crore for its maiden EV offering and will begin its production in the coming months at the company's Gujarat plant. It would be exported to more than 100 countries of the world, including Europe and Japan. The e Vitara can run 500 kms on a single charge, the company said.


The car market leader will leverage its expansive dealer network and have charging points every 5 to 10 kms, Partha Banerjee, senior executive officer-- sales and marketing, Maruti said at the event. Around 1500 of the company's workshops will be EV-enabled, he informed. The manufacturer of Baleno and Breza models expects the EV market in India to see a 10x growth by the end of the ongoing decade.