Under the proposed partnership, both the automotive OEMs are likely to start EV Production units in Suzuki Motor Factory in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. With the lease of knowledge and technology, the strategic partnership of Toyota with Suzuki is expected to substantially improve the outcomes of sustainable mobility solutions in the Indian Market.
Drawing each other’s strength for the common goal of E-mobility, Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest passenger vehicle Manufacturer is likely to introduce the Battery compact Electric vehicles in India, under a partnership with world-class Japanese Automotive manufacturer, Toyota. As per the reports, the plan is still in discussion under the officials of Suzuki, Japan. As of now, Maruti Suzuki, around 50 percent subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan is foreseen to manufacture the EVs in Gujarat plant with the technical know-how of Toyota. The EVs, along with India will also be supplied globally to Europe & Japan.
Under the collaboration, the companies are expected to launch pure-electric compact SUVs by 2025 in India. They are also equipped with the skateboard platform internally which is called the 40PL electric platform, which is versatile enough to accommodate numerous vehicle body types. The compact SUVs brought under the partnership are expected to have a length of 4.2 meters and wheelbase of 2.7 meters along with a bigger battery pack for a long-range per charge.
The available reports state that Maruti’s Electric Compact SUV, with the code name YY8, would come with the choice of 48 kWh and 59 kWh battery packs. The range is claimed to be 400 km in the entry-level version and 500 km for the higher battery pack. Additionally, the model is also expected to have the feature of an all-wheel drive with an output power between 130 HP to 170 HP. Recently, the exported automotive units from Maruti Suzuki’s manufacturing in 2021 counted around 205, 450, which will be raised after the planned unit in Gujarat.
“Maruti Suzuki is dedicated to Government of India’s vision of Make In India for the world. This milestone of over 2 lakh exports in the calendar year reflects the confidence of our global customers in terms of quality, technology, reliability and performance, and cost-effectiveness. We stand committed to living up to the trust placed by our global customers on us and will continue to delight them,” said Kenichi Ayukawa, MD & CEO, Maruti Suzuki.
The local EV Production is expected to source ‘Made In India’ battery packs which will help the companies to price their electric compact SUVs. The battery packs would be sourced locally from TDSG, which is a large-scale battery manufacturing joint-venture between Suzuki Motor Corp, Toshiba, and Denso. The plant which is located in Hansalpur, Gujarat would supply the lithium-ion battery packs. The PLI scheme, which has been provided to Suzuki for green cars manufacturing will also complement the requirement of Maruti and Toyota.
The statement comes in lieu of the MoU signed between the companies earlier to launch the compact battery-electric vehicle in India at an early stage. The flagship MoU was concluded earlier, between the Automotive Giants to introduce the Electric Vehicles in India by the year 2020. The MoU included the dissemination of vehicle electrification in India. Both the parties decided to conduct comprehensive cooperation to scale the widespread acceptance of EVs in the Indian Market.
