Suzuki Motor Aims To Produce 6 Battery EVs For India By 2030
Suzuki Motor Company, the parent company of Maruti Suzuki, the largest automaker in India, announced on Thursday that it would introduce six battery electric vehicles (BEVs) there by 2030, with BEV sales in India making up 15% of the company’s overall sales by the end of the decade.
According to a statement made on January 26 by the Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan, six battery-powered electric vehicles would be sold in India by FY2030 as part of the company’s market expansion. This will help the company meet the Union government’s goal of being carbon-neutral by 2070.
The Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) has announced that its Indian subsidiary, Maruti Suzuki India, will deliver both battery EVs and carbon-neutral internal combustion engine vehicles using CNG, biogas, and ethanol mixed fuels as part of the company’s market expansion for FY2030, which was shared on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
SMC stated regarding its strategy for introducing battery-powered vehicles that “in India, we would offer the SUV battery-powered EV revealed at the Auto Expo 2023 in FY2024, with six variants to be released by FY2030.”
Battery electric vehicles will make up 15% of the business’s whole product line by FY2030, compared to 60% of internal combustion engines and 25% of hybrid electric vehicles, according to the corporation.
According to sales, the company’s subsidiary Maruti Suzuki India is the biggest producer of passenger cars in the nation. SMC introduced the prototype electric SUV, known as the “eVX,” through Maruti Suzuki at the Auto Expo 2023 earlier this month; the car was initially expected to go on sale by 2025.
With the introduction of the eVX, Maruti Suzuki also made its EV debut and signalled a change in direction for the company. Contrary to competitors like Tata Motors and Mahindra (M&M), who are aggressively growing their EV range, Maruti has always been reticent to introduce EVs. The introduction of their electric vehicles is being prepared by competitors, including MG Auto, Hyundai India, and Kia India (e-cars).
Chairman RC Bhargava Bhargava stated that MSIL would not enter the EV industry in the near future during Maruti’s Annual General Meeting in 2021. Bhargava had indicated that the nation’s top seller of passenger cars would only begin selling EVs once there was a “decent volume”, and no “losses” were expected. Meanwhile, SMC included the Indian biogas industry as one of its primary priority areas in its expansion strategy.
“While we anticipate that the Indian market will expand through FY2030, we also anticipate that despite the reduction in product-related CO2 emissions, an increase in overall CO2 emissions will be inevitable. We will struggle to find a compromise between growing the number of sales units and cutting overall CO2 emissions, “It read.
Suzuki’s innovative strategy to meet this difficulty is the biogas company, which will manufacture and supply biogas made from cow dung, a type of dairy waste mostly found in rural areas of India.
“This biogas can be utilised for Suzuki’s CNG models, which make up about 70% of the CNG car market in India,” the company said. It also noted that Suzuki had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian government’s National Dairy Development Board and Banas Dairy, Asia’s biggest dairy company, to verify biogas.
The Japanese small car manufacturer said it has invested in Fujisan Asagiri Biomass LLC, a company that generates electricity in Japan using biogas made from cow dung. The study for this project has just started, according to the company. In addition to helping India achieve carbon neutrality, the biogas industry, according to the statement, also fosters economic development and benefits Indian society.
Suzuki plans to produce eight motorcycle models with a battery EV ratio of 25% by FY30, starting with the introduction of a battery EV in FY24. The company is considering using carbon-neutral fuels for huge motorcycles for leisure. Suzuki will debut battery EVs for its small outboard motors, frequently used in lakes and rivers, in FY24. By FY30, five models will be available, each with a 5 per cent battery EV ratio.
In the future, the company will also think about extending the business to other agricultural regions, such as Africa, ASEAN, and Japan. Carbon neutrality is the primary priority for SMC among the significant objectives for FY2030.
In terms of R&D, the business has stated that the Suzuki headquarters, the Yokohama Lab, the Suzuki R&D Center India, and Maruti Suzuki would all work together to share future technology development, advanced technology development, and mass production technology development to maximize efficiency.
The Suzuki Innovation Center is also looking at new alliances and ideas to help Suzuki establish itself in India, it was added. The business added that it would strengthen its manufacturing capabilities by working with outside partners, such as startup businesses, the Suzuki Suppliers Association, and colleges in Japan and India.
Maruti Suzuki Q3 net profit jumps, shares soar
The world’s largest automaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. reported on Tuesday a massive increase in its net profit for the third quarter that ended in December 2022 (Q3 FY23), which more than doubled from the quarter before to 2,351 crores. According to Refinitiv IBES data, experts had anticipated the company to make a profit of 1,881 crores, so the result was higher than expected, thanks to solid demand.
In the meantime, the automaker’s operational revenue increased by approximately 25% to 29,044 crores from 23,246 crore year-over-year (YoY). During the quarter, the company sold 465,911 vehicles in total. The domestic market saw the sale of 403,929 units, while 61,982 units were exported. Production was hindered this quarter by a shortage of 46,000 automobiles due to electronic components.
Comparatively, during the same period the year before, total sales of 430,668 units—of which 365,673 units were sold domestically, and 64,995 units were exported—were 430,668 units. The company reported net sales of 27.849 crores for the quarter. Net sales were at 22,187 crores at the same time last year.
It further stated that its operating profit increased to 2,123 crores in Q3 FY2022-23 from 919 crores in Q3 FY2021-22. The manufacturer said that CY2022 had its best total sales and exports ever, with 1,940,067 units sold overall and 263,068 units exported. In Tuesday’s afternoon trades on the BSE, Maruti Suzuki shares were trading more than 2% higher at 8,595 per share. The auto stock has increased by more than 7% in a year.
edited and proofread by nikita sharma
