Maruti Suzuki and Toyota are working on a global midsize electric SUV, which is expected to be priced in the Rs. 13-15 lakh range upon likely arrival by 2025
Following the announcement of investing Rs. 10,000 crore to establish its electrification plans, Maruti Suzuki has formed an exclusive team for its EV operations and connected vehicles known as the “New Mobility Division”. The team will report directly to Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Director, Sales and Marketing at Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL).
The project is currently in its “implementation stage” and required personnel are put in place to execute the plan. Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), parent of MSIL, will invest in a battery production factory in Gujarat and the first major EV assault from the brand is only expected to happen by the middle of this decade, as the WagonR EV plans have been ditched already.
Maruti Suzuki and Toyota are working on a midsize SUV that will be launched by each brand under their own umbrella later this year. Besides badge-engineered vehicles, the Japanese duo is also working on a global midsize electric SUV, which is expected to be priced in the Rs. 13-15 lakh range and thus it can compete against Tata Nexon EV in terms of pricing but will be bigger in size.
Believed to be based on the 27PL platform, derived from Toyota’s 40PL, it will have proportions similar to the MG ZS EV and India could act as a manufacturing hub for the electric SUV. Maruti Suzuki’s version is codenamed YY8 and it will be produced in both 2WD and 4WD configurations with a possible range of up to 500 km on a single charge for the top-spec trim.
The Maruti Suzuki YY8 and its Toyota derivative will have several commonalities including the dimensions but the exterior will be developed based on each brand’s requirements as the bZ4X could have a lot of say in Toyota’s styling. The upcoming five-seater electric SUV will take advantage of the packaging freedom offered by the skateboard platform as well.
Maruti Suzuki will launch the facelifted Ertiga next in India and it will be followed by the mildly updated XL6 while the heavily revised Vitara Brezza will debut around June 2022. A compact SUV coupe based on Baleno’s Heartect platform and a seven-seater flagship SUV are also on the cards for market entry in the coming years.