Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) has signed an MOU with the State of Gujarat, India to invest approximately 150 billion yen (approximately 104.4 billion rupees) for local manufacturing of electric vehicles (BEV) and BEV batteries. Suzuki will build a new electric vehicle production line in India. India has set itself a goal of making 30 per cent of newly-sold cars to be electric by 2030. Now, to achieve that, the government has offered incentives to purchasers of EVs worth $1.3 billion over a three-year period, starting in 2019. The announcement then comes at the right time when Suzuki looks to manufacture both electric cars and electric batteries locally.
undefined岸田総理との会談は幅広く生産的でした。同総理は常にインドの良き友人でした。我々は過去数年の間の二国間関係の進展を確認し、地域の、そしてグローバルな問題について議論しました。 pic.twitter.com/KsjhJGR4Mu
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 19, 2022
This will of course mean that the EVs will be affordable, however, there is no word on this just yet. carandbike reached out to Maruti Suzuki for a statement regarding the timelines with regards to the new factory but the company said that this was a global decision and it will not comment on the development just yet.
The WagonR electric car has been spotted testing in India on many occasions
The MOU was signed on March 19, 2022, at the India-Japan Economic Forum held in New Delhi, India, in the presence of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Toshihiro Suzuki, Representative Director and President, Suzuki Motor Corporation, and Kenichi Ayukawa, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Limited were joined by senior government personnel of India and Japan at the ceremony.
Speaking at the Forum, Toshihiro Suzuki said, "Suzuki's future mission is to achieve carbon neutrality with small cars." The statement makes it clear that Maruti Suzuki will target EVs in the small car segment but we keenly await more details from the carmaker about the timelines for products as also a manufacturing plant for batteries.
