Maruti Suzuki India to localise EV components in a few years

Maruti Suzuki India plans to localise battery production and other critical components over the next few years as part of strengthening the overall EV ecosystem in the country.

The company, which plans to launch its first electric vehicle, e-VITARA, in the domestic market next year, is looking to instil confidence in the buyers as it looks to strengthen the overall EV ecosystem.

“Right now we are importing the batteries, but yes, we have a plan for localisation. It is very much on the cards in a phased manner over the next few years,” Maruti Suzuki India Senior Executive Officer (Marketing & Sales) Partho Banerjee told the reporters.

He noted that the electric vehicle penetration in India will grow only when the consumer has the confidence to buy it as a primary car in the household.

“We believe that the customer is not confident (about EVs). The initial products that were launched, and the experiences from those, have created a huge amount of negativity in the minds of people regarding the driving range,” he added. “To date, the customers who are buying the EV vehicle, most of them will be using it as a secondary vehicle,” he said.

“It’s not the primary car. Since public infrastructure is not there, the buyer doesn’t want to take a chance. So if he wants to buy his first vehicle, it happens to be not in EV, but in ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) or some other vehicle,” Mr. Banerjee said.

By FY30, Maruti Suzuki plans to have five EV models in its overall product portfolio. “By then, the industry will be around 5.5-6 million, and EV penetration will be around 13-15%. But this was before GST 2.0. So, we now have to reassess the market since there are reports that post-GST 2.0, the penetration of EVs is going down. The ideal time to do it will be next FY,” Mr. Banerjee stated.

He listed driving range, inadequacy of public charging infrastructure and challenges in after-sales service and resale value as the biggest challenges in EV adoption in the country.

“We are trying to instil confidence in the customers before they acquire an EV. If the buyer is not confident about the entire ecosystem he will not buy an EV,” Mr. Banerjee said.

The automaker will have 1,500 EV-enabled workshops across 1,100 cities pan-India. It has already set up 2,000 charging points.

“For the resale value we are going to have an assured buyback scheme and subscription scheme as well,” he said.

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Acknowledging the lack of an EV ecosystem as a major drawback, he noted the EV industry is not growing at a similar pace as the internal combustion engine vehicles.

“OEMs [Original Equipment Manufacturer] should first make the products good, have a good after-sales service, and create a good ecosystem,” Mr. Banerjee said.

“That gives better confidence to the customer,” he added. Maruti has already started exports of e-VITARA, having shipped 10,000 units of the model to 26 markets.

The auto major aims to drive in multiple electric models across bodystyles and set up charging infrastructure across the country as it looks to attain leadership in the segment.

The company plans to set up around one lakh charging stations by 2030 in partnership with its dealer partners and charging point operators.