High cost will make small electric cars unattractive to consumers: Bhargava

For petrol car with Rs 500,000-600,000 tag, EV variant won't be less than Rs 1.2 mn today, says Maruti Suzuki chairman

The current on-road price of a small electric car would be more than double the equivalent petrol model, making it highly unattractive and unviable for consumers, says R C Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki.  

Even the operational cost of running the two kinds of vehicles, he feels, will not be very different, as the owner of an electric vehicle (EV) will have to deal with a high EMI (equated monthly instalment) and depreciation cost.  

About 75 per cent of the country’s car sales come from small cars, and Maruti Suzuki is the largest player in this space.

“For a petrol