Toyota-Suzuki affordable electric vehicle to make India debut by 2025

The India subsidiaries of Suzuki Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation are co-developing a pure-born electric car platform in anticipation of the disruption electric vehicles (EVs) will create amid an aggressive policy push by governments of various countries to meet decarbonisation targets.

This will be one among a series of models powered by alternative powertrain technologies the companies plan to launch over the next five years, said multiple people aware of the project.

Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) will lead the project for an affordable EV expected to be ready for an India launch by late 2024 or early 2025, said one of the persons. The company floated a request for quotation among its suppliers a fortnight ago.

“We have announced the launch of an EV by 2025. Development and testing of the prototype are on schedule. The manufacturing plant hasn’t been decided upon yet. Regarding market rumours on other aspects, we do not respond as a policy,” said a spokesperson for MSIL.

“The very idea of the alliance is to strengthen the competitiveness of both our companies by applying our strong points and learning from each other. From a long-term perspective, the partnership is the first step towards exploring more opportunities to collaborate in environment-friendly and safer vehicles. The partnership will also help us enhance market competitiveness and build better cars and cater to the growing expectations of the changing markets,” said a spokesperson for Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

Toyota and Suzuki are looking to make close to 114,000 units of the model per year. In addition to addressing the Indian market, the model will also be exported to Europe and Thailand. The model will sport the Toyota-Suzuki badge — much like it does for some of the internal combustion engine-powered models.

As part of the global partnership stitched between the two Japanese carmakers in 2018, the duo will share models and technologies for India and a few other markets. Toyota sells the rebadged Baleno and the Vitara Brezza as the Glanza and the Urban Cruiser, respectively. 

“Toyota-Suzuki’s entry into the affordable electric car segment could mark an inflection point in a market where the adoption to battery EVs has been sluggish, owing to lack of competitively priced models and underdeveloped charging infrastructure,” said Puneet Gupta, director, IHS Markit — a sales forecast and market research firm.    

Global automakers are planning to spend more than half a trillion dollars on EVs and batteries through 2030, according to a Reuters analysis. Toyota Motor will sell 3.5 million EVs globally in 2030 and market 30 different electric models, the company announced on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, India’s first lithium-ion cell manufacturing plant with an investment of Rs 1,200 crore has already been commissioned by Suzuki’s joint venture (JV) with Toshiba and Denso Corporation in Gujarat. Trial production is going on, said the spokesperson for MSIL.

The lithium-ion cell manufacturing unit was set up as a 50:40:10 JV with the three companies in 2017. The JV is also expected to receive sops under the government’s production-linked incentive scheme for advanced chemistry cell manufacturing in India.

ALL CHARGED UP

• To sport the Toyota-Suzuki badge
• Expected to go on sale by 2025
• Maruti Suzuki is the project lead for the maiden offering 

• To roll out 114,000 units per annum
• To be sold in Europe and Thailand as well