On October 30, Japan’s Suzuki Motor and Toyota Motor said in a statement that Suzuki Motor’s Indian subsidiary will supply Toyota Motor with its first electric vehicle. Boosted by the news, Maruti Suzuki’s shares rose by about 4%, close to the intraday high.
Maruti Suzuki, which is controlled by Suzuki Motor, will start producing the electric vehicle at its plant in Gujarat, western India, in the spring of 2025. The plant plans to add a fourth production line, which will be used only for the production of electric vehicles, with an annual production capacity of 250,000 vehicles. Suzuki has no plans to produce the model anywhere else except the Gujarat plant. The company has previously said it plans to supply the electric vehicle globally, including the Japanese and European markets.
According to statements from Toyota Motor and Suzuki Motor, the electric model that Maruti Suzuki will supply to Toyota Motor was developed by Suzuki, but the platform of the model was jointly developed by Suzuki, Toyota and Daihatsu Motor. The electric SUV will be equipped with a 60 kWh battery pack and have a range of 500 km (311 miles).
For now, neither Suzuki nor Toyota’s Indian subsidiaries sell electric vehicles in the Indian market. India is Suzuki’s largest market outside of Japan, and the partnership with Toyota also consolidates India’s position as Suzuki’s electric vehicle center. It is reported that the company plans to invest more than $1 billion in India.