Maruti Sets The EV Ball Rolling, Mulls 25K Charging Units Ahead Of Its SUV Roll Out

With India aggressively riding the electric mobility wave and players scrambling to grab a pie of the market by setting up charging ports, automobile manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India also joined the bandwagon with plans to build nearly 25,000 EV charging stations ahead of its electric SUV launch.

At the Auto Expo 2023, the company first revealed its plan to bring in a midsize SUV, dubbed as ‘Concept eVX’, to India by next year.

As per ET, citing sources, the carmaker is also in talks with oil marketing companies (OMCs) and energy companies to create a charging ecosystem, which has been one of the biggest deterrents to faster adoption of electric mobility in the country.

Inc42 has reached out to Maruti Suzuki for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

“They (Maruti) have started surveying their dealer workshops for charging points,” the report quoted a source as saying.

“The plan is to have at least one dedicated bay and two charge points at its service centres. The company has already started training service mechanics in Bengaluru,” the source added.

Based on the report, some OMC insiders have also confirmed that Swift parent has reached out to them to book space for EV charging and servicing points in their retail outlets.

“We will come up with a range of solutions for our EV customers to remove their concerns about owning an EV,” Hisashi Takeuchi, Maruti Suzuki’s managing director was quoted as saying in the report.

Concept eVX, is planned to be priced in the range of INR 20-25 Lakh, and the company plans to sell 3,000 units of the eVX in the first three months of its launch, as per the report. The e-SUV will be produced at its Gujarat plant and will be retailed through the premium Nexa outlet.

This development comes months after the Centre approved a new policy under which electric automobile companies would have to pay lower duty on imports of EVs if they agree to set up manufacturing facilities in the country.

Japan-based Suzuki’s subsidiary was initially voicing its concern over the launch of electric vehicles (EVs) in India, in 2019. The company found the cost of EV and lack of charging infrastructure as a deterrent to the mass adoption of electric cars in the country.

With the new policies in favour of car makers and the growing opportunity, the company is able to act on its goals of sustainability to bring in charging ports and electric vehicles to the Indian market soon.

As per recent data, two-wheeler EV registrations witnessed a decline of about 18% in August. Additionally, total EV registrations in the country, across categories, declined to 1.63 Lakh units last month from 1.87 Lakh units in July.