Daily News Capsule

Suzuki Motor Corporation, the parent company of Maruti Suzuki, will join Toyota’s four partners in developing a new line of electric vehicles based on a design it unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show. This will pave the way for Toyota and Suzuki to enter the Indian market with their next-generation electric vehicles (EVs). Toyota has yet to reveal its plans for India, despite announcing the definition bZ (beyond Zero) on April 19.

• Both Japanese automakers have lagged behind in India’s electric vehicle market, while rivals such as Tata Motors, Hyundai, MG Motor, and even Mahindra & Mahindra, which has struggled recently, have forged ahead. Although Maruti Suzuki and Toyota are yet to introduce their first electric vehicle in India, Tata Motors has taken the lead in the EV segment with a market share of more than 50%.

According to Toyota’s most recent announcements, the company plans to have 70 electrified models available by 2025. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) will all be accessible (FCEVs).

• By 2025, 15 BEVs will be available, half of which will be based on the bZ models. These BEVs will have a “practical cruise range with open and freestyle interior and specially built exterior,” according to Toyota. The Toyota bZ series is built on BEV-specific platforms that can be customized in terms of size and design.

For the bZ series, Toyota will collaborate with China’s BYD, as well as Daihatsu and Subaru from Japan. According to Toyota, the key markets for this new series of EVs are China, the United States, and Europe.

Toyota will work with BYD of China, as well as Daihatsu and Subaru of Japan, on the bZ series. The main markets for this latest series of EVs, according to Toyota, are China, the United States, and Europe.

• Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest carmaker, has announced that the first fully electric vehicle will be commercially available in 2020. Suzuki partnered with Toyota to accelerate the advancement of electric and hybrid vehicle technology. Maruti Suzuki, which began road testing 50 BEVs in 2018, has yet to announce its intentions to join the EV market.

Because of the high-end price of the EV due to current battery costs, the Delhi-based company has refrained from joining the EV segment until now. An electric vehicle costs almost twice as much as a gasoline-powered version of the same model. A petrol Tata Nexon, for example, costs Rs 7.09 lakh, while the electric version costs Rs 14 lakh, both prices ex-showroom, Delhi.

Maruti also attributes its slow adoption of electric vehicles to a lack of charging facilities in the country and a high degree of driving range anxiety.

According to the new Suzuki-Toyota agreement in India, Toyota sells rebranded Suzuki Vitara Brezza and Baleno models, which it then sells as Urban Cruiser and Glanza through its own showrooms. In India, Maruti Suzuki has a retail market share of 49%, while Toyota has a 3% share.

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