Suzuki & Toyota To Develop A New Small EV Platform

Suzuki has devised a new five-year strategy with electrification as its major priority; around 1 trillion yen is said to be invested

Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) is stepping into 101 years of existence in the automotive market and it has big plans moving forward with India being at the forefront of its sales aspirations. The importance of India for SMC is not a secret due to its volume driving nature and it has electrification as a major priority in the coming years.

The Japanese manufacturer has devised a new five-year strategy, which will see the development of a range of zero-emission vehicles while it will bet big on hybrids and CNG models in the near future. By the closure of 2025, Suzuki aims at selling 3.7 million units and the Asian continent is expected to contribute around 2.5 million of the total.

With SMC’s MSIL (Maruti Suzuki India Limited) garners around 50 per cent market share every month, it is projected to manufacture 1.85 million units by the middle of this decade. MSIL will be expanding its footprint further alongside concentrating on introducing new CNG models, and penetrate deep into SUV segments.

Suzuki is said to invest around 1 trillion yen (Rs. 69,000 crore approximately) to bring its plans to reality over the next five years. The company will develop hybrid systems for its mini, compact and CV range besides PHEV technology. It will take advantage of the alliance with Toyota to bring out new electric vehicles as a small EV architecture will be developed.

Moreover, the supply of hybrid vehicles will also see an expansion. The Toyota RAV4 Prime Hybrid was rebadged into Suzuki ACross PHEV midway through last year and more badge engineered vehicles could be in the pipeline for global markets. As for India, Toyota is already reaping the benefits of having Glanza and Urban Cruiser under its belt.

Maruti Suzuki will more likely launch a mid-size SUV in cooperation with Toyota next while a seven-seater MPV slotting above the Ertiga and between the Innova Crysta is also reportedly in the works. The brand has long been testing the JDM-spec Wagon R with an electric powertrain and it will spawn an affordable production EV in the future.