India’s Largest Auto Manufacturer Commits To Electric Vehicles, But Offers No Timelines

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The largest auto manufacturer in India, Maruti Suzuki India, announced on Friday that it will begin manufacturing and selling plug-in electric vehicles in the country — but offered no details as regards timelines — following the government’s announcement that all new vehicles sold in the country are expected to be electrified by 2030.

Accompanying the announcement, though, Maruti Suzuki’s chairman stated that he thought that there was still no clarity as to how the government’s plans would be achieved, and that the company’s actions will ultimately mostly depend on the path taken by the government.

“We will make electric cars but I can’t give you the date just now because it is all very much a work in progress,” explained the Maruti Suzuki chairman RC Bhargava to local reporters.

Reuters provides more: “Maruti’s parent, Suzuki Motor Corp, has electric car technology which it can provide, Bhargava said, adding the Japanese company was also in talks with Toyota Motor Corp to form an alliance which may include sharing technologies like hybrid and electric.

“India is working on a new auto policy that promotes the use of electric cars, and a draft is likely to be made public before the end of the year. This is a shift from an earlier policy that promoted hybrid and electric vehicles. Sales of electric cars in India remain negligible, however, mainly due to the high cost of batteries which make the vehicles expensive and out of reach for many buyers in a country where cars are as cheap as 250,000 rupees ($3,800).”

An accompanying problem is the current lack of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, but it seems likely that situation could be improved fairly quickly with the right incentives for fuel station owners. Also, there’s already movement with some of the world’s biggest charging station providers, ABB and Fortum.

As it stands, Maruti Suzuki India more or less owns the small car market in India, and has been making inroads into premium classes in recent years — though competition has been increasing in recent years as firms such as SAIC Motor and Kia Motors have been moving in. Maruti is already a major manufacturer of hybrids in India, it should be also be noted.

Related:

  1. India Considers 100% Electric Vehicles By 2030
  2. Could India Really Become 1st Fully Electric Car Country?
  3. India Considers 100% Electric Vehicles By 2030
  4. India Will Fly Forward With Cleantech & Climate Action Despite Donald Trump (CleanTechnica Exclusive)
  5. India Commits To Continued Climate & Cleantech Leadership In Spite Of Trump (CleanTechnica Exclusive Video)
  6. Cleantech Disruption — My Presentation At Institutional Investment Conference In India (Video)
  7. India Proposes Making All Vehicles Electric By 2030
  8. India’s Government To Purchase 10,000 EVs From Tata Motors
  9. Big EV Charging Infrastructure Deals Popping Up In India

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James Ayre

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.

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