Maruti Suzuki India has signed an MoU with the Gujarat government for the manufacturing of electric cars. Under this MoU the fourth line of production will be started.
Maruti Suzuki Chairman RC Bhargava said that land acquisition will also be completed in a few months. The production is expected to start from 2028.
The company expects that by the end of this decade, 1 in 5 cars manufactured by the company will be electric.
Bhagarva said, ‘The current estimate is that by 2030-31, 15% to 20% of the total production will be electric vehicles and this will not be possible with just one line of production. In such a situation, when the capacity of this line will be completed, we will have to convert some existing lines into EV lines.
While EV production will depend on demand, Bhargava expects half of the manufactured vehicles to be exported. Maruti Suzuki expects to reach export capacity of 7.5 to 8 lakh units by FY31.
Focus is also on biofuel
Along with EV vehicle manufacturing, the company is also focusing on biofuel as an alternative to meet its increased demand.
Explaining the reason for this, Bhargava says, ‘Electric vehicles are easily accessible in the expensive upper segment of the market. But the mindset of customers is to go for smaller cars, where mass penetration of EVs will take a long time and will be a difficult task.
The company also wants to localize battery production, this is a big challenge for domestic manufacturing of EVs. Bhargava said that in such a situation, the company’s focus is on the production of Maruti’s new technology in batteries.
According to Bhargava, ‘Electric use by EVs increases, which increases the demand for power, due to which the carbon footprint also increases. Hybrid technology generates less carbon footprint than EV.
