With car makers across the world developing and launching new electric vehicles, Maruti Suzuki India will bring its EV by 2025. RC Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India, said the launch date of the company’s first EV has to be decided by the parent company, Suzuki, in Japan.
He, however, told Car and Bike that the company will introduce an electric vehicle by 2025. “Having volumes of a few 1000s is very good, but they leave us unexcited. We will not be happy if we sell 1000 cars in a month, we have gone to much higher volumes,” Bhargava said. “If I start to sell EVs, I would like to sell around 10,000 cars in a month.”
The Maruti Suzuki India executive acknowledged the fact that there has to be a greater demand in the market for electric vehicles. “Right now, the company sees no point in selling less than one lakh electric vehicles a year, when its total volumes are over two million cars for a normal year.”
The carmaker is looking into alternative fuel options. As such, its focus is on CNGs. Bhargava said Maruti Suzuki India has the largest portfolio of CNG cars in the country, however, with increasing demand, the company is planning to expand it further. He highlighted that CNG models are currently witnessing some of the longest waiting periods, but models like the Alto petrol has no waiting period right now. Maruti Suzuki India is also looking into flex-fuel technology, but says there has to be a demand for such technology before it decides to develop a product.
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It should be noted that Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, said the ministry will release the order mandating all vehicle manufacturers to power vehicles with flex engines, which can run on more than one fuel, in the next 3 to 4 months.
