Maruti Suzuki may be a latecomer to the electric vehicle market in India with its first EV still waiting to be launched, but the car company has big ambitions in the zero-emissions space. Maruti Suzuki India Limited senior executive (marketing and sales) Shashank Srivastava said the automaker plans to have at least six electric vehicles in its portfolio by 2030. He further said that the six EVs will be positioned in different market segments. Interestingly, Srivastava’s comments come after Maruti Suzuki unveiled its first EV concept in the form of the eVX at the 2023 Auto Expo.
The current market share of electric vehicles in India is one percent of the entire market. Shashank Srivastava believes that this proportion will grow to around 3% in 2024-25 and further increase to around 17% by 2030. He said that by 2030, there will be about 1 million electric vehicles on Indian roads. “We will have six electric vehicles in different segments by 2030. We estimate that the market is currently 1%, it will be around 3% in 2024-25, and it will be around 17% in 2030, or about 6 million cars, 1 million of which will be electric by 2030,” he said.
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Srivastava said at an event that electric vehicles will become mainstream, but when it will become mainstream is still unpredictable. Electric vehicles are gaining a bigger footprint in India as consumer confidence grows and choices expand. Leading mass-market car brands such as Tata Motors, Hyundai, MG, Mahindra and Citroen have already launched their respective EVs in India along with luxury automakers such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and Volvo. However, Maruti Suzuki has yet to penetrate the EV segment.
Srivastava further stated that if regular cars are 100, EVs are 160 due to the high cost of batteries. The main Maruti Suzuki official also said his company was trying to reduce battery costs. “If normal cars are 100, EVs are 160 due to high battery costs. Maruti Suzuki is trying to reduce battery costs,” he said.
Meanwhile, he also said that Maruti Suzuki is looking forward to strengthening its SUV portfolio. Adding to market expectations further, Maruti Suzuki officials believe that India will sell close to 6 million vehicles by 2030, compared to 3.8 million in 2022.
First published date: Feb 26, 2023 at 12:45pm CST
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