New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki, the country’s largest car maker, on Friday announced that it would start testing 50 prototype electric vehicles on Indian roads. The announcement was made by Osamu Suzuki, chairman, Suzuki Motor Corporation, the parent company of Maruti Suzuki, during his speech at the Global Mobility Summit.
Suzuki has already collaborated with Toyota Motor Corporation for making small electric vehicles for the Indian market and the former will launch its first electric vehicle in 2020 in the domestic market.
“We have decided to launch EVs in India around 2020 in cooperation with Toyota Motor Corporation. I am pleased to announce today that we will start road running tests using a fleet of 50 EV prototype vehicles in India from next month for developing safe and easy-to-use electric vehicles for Indian customers in line with Indian climatic and traffic conditions,” said Suzuki.
Suzuki Motor Corporation is also in the process of setting up a lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in Gujarat in collaboration with Denso Corporation and Toshiba Corporation.
Apart from electric vehicles Suzuki will also invest in developing a range of hybrid vehicles with Toyota for the Indian market. During the current financial year Suzuki will invest 1.5 billion Japanese yen -- the highest ever -- for the research and development of electric and hybrid vehicles mostly for the Indian market.
“We have also decided to commence production of lithium-ion batteries for automobiles at our battery plant in Gujarat in 2020 and will continue to dedicate ourselves to the realization of a sustainable mobility society,” added Suzuki.
Maruti has already started conducting a survey to gauge customer expectations regarding electric vehicles. In an interview with Mint in February, Kenichi Ayulawa, chief executive, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, said that the company will invest in setting up charging infrastructure in certain cities and towns once the company introduces its first electric vehicle in India.
“Regarding increasing the penetration of EVs in India, it is obvious that it cannot be done without sufficient charging infrastructure development. In this regard, we look forward to proactive leadership from the government of India,” added Suzuki.