Maruti may drive in electric vehicle next year

NEW DELHI: India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki is evaluating the commercial launch of a small electric car next year amid challenges such as high prices along with lack of adequate charging facilities at the disposal of potential buyers.

While the company will be ready with a vehicle in 2020, the launch will depend on the willingness of buyers to pay more for an electric version, said Maruti Suzuki chairman RC Bhargava.

“The WagonR Electric is being tested and will be ready next year,” he told ET. “But what the company can produce and sell will depend on the customer’s willingness to buy the vehicle given the limitations of cost and charging space.”

Maruti Suzuki is currently testing 50 electric WagonRs.

Economic viability will be a key factor. The electric version of a small car may cost as much as Rs 12 lakh, given the current regulatory regime, Maruti Suzuki MD Kenichi Ayukawa told ET recently. That compares with the petrol version of the new WagonR being priced at Rs 4.20-5.70 lakh (exshowroom, Delhi). Ayukawa said Maruti was “studying” a commercial launch.

“It is a mistake to think that businesses are driven by manufacturers—they are customer driven,” Bhargava said. “The price of electrifying a small car can go far beyond the reach of the small car owner.”

The government extends a lower tax rate of 12% on electric vehicles, against 28% on those powered by internal combustion engines. However, it stopped short of incentivising private users for purchasing electric vehicles in the second phase of the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) India Initiative.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited