In this episode of Electric Car Watch, we will talk about Suzuki Motor Corporation’s investment worth 10,000 CR Rupees to manufacture electric cars and cells in India. Great Move? Too little, too late?
Video: Electric Car Watch ? ⚡: Suzuki's 'Shooting in the dark' EV
In this episode we will talk about Suzuki Motor Corporation’s investment worth 10,000 CR Rupees to manufacture electric cars and cells in India. Apparently Suzuki will launch its first electric car at its Gujarat plant by 2025. The Memorandum of Understanding signed between Suzuki Motor Corporation and the Gujarat government at the India-Japan Economic Forum at New Delhi. Suzuki Motor Gujarat Pvt Ltd (SMG) will invest Rs 7,300 crore for the construction of a battery plant near SMG’s automobile manufacturing unit by 2026. SMG will invest another Rs 3,100 crore for ramping up production capacity for electric vehicles by 2025.
Surprise! Surprise! After years of bashing EV’s in the media, it looks like Maruti will have to eat some humble pie and follow the orders soon. Ultimately that is what Maruti does. They simply follow what their Japanese overlords Suzuki tells them.
Suzuki India's managing director and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said
"We are a little behind our competitors in introducing the (EV) model to the Indian market, but we see that still, the market demand for those EVs is limited. Actually, sales of EVs in the Indian market are still very, very limited, But that does not mean we are doing nothing about EV. We have done a very extensive test of our EV utilizing our existing models and putting those batteries and motors and everything into this existing model. We have been doing this test for more than a year with multiple cars in the Indian environment so that we are sure that our EV technology will be good in the environment, which is very, very tough in India.”
So, Suzuki - a company who had very little EV plans all these years, has suddenly changed their tune and are investing 1.2 Billion USD for electric cars in India. Would this investment get them to be competitive in the Indian, Japanese and Asian passenger car markets?
Suzuki plans to sell their first electric small car only in 2025 in a price range starting at 1 million yen (Rs 7 lakhs) after government subsidies. That is the exact same time, they plan to launch their electric car in India.
"If you're offering a product to a kei car [minicar] customer, it's essential to come within the 1 million yen range," President of the Suzuki group, Toshihiro Suzuki, told reporters Wednesday. "We aim to somehow introduce it by 2025," he said of the Japan EV launch.
Surprise! Surprise! After years of bashing EV’s in the media, it looks like Maruti will have to eat some humble pie and follow the orders soon. Ultimately that is what Maruti does. They simply follow what their Japanese overlords Suzuki tells them.
Suzuki India's managing director and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said
"We are a little behind our competitors in introducing the (EV) model to the Indian market, but we see that still, the market demand for those EVs is limited. Actually, sales of EVs in the Indian market are still very, very limited, But that does not mean we are doing nothing about EV. We have done a very extensive test of our EV utilizing our existing models and putting those batteries and motors and everything into this existing model. We have been doing this test for more than a year with multiple cars in the Indian environment so that we are sure that our EV technology will be good in the environment, which is very, very tough in India.”
So, Suzuki - a company who had very little EV plans all these years, has suddenly changed their tune and are investing 1.2 Billion USD for electric cars in India. Would this investment get them to be competitive in the Indian, Japanese and Asian passenger car markets?
Suzuki plans to sell their first electric small car only in 2025 in a price range starting at 1 million yen (Rs 7 lakhs) after government subsidies. That is the exact same time, they plan to launch their electric car in India.
"If you're offering a product to a kei car [minicar] customer, it's essential to come within the 1 million yen range," President of the Suzuki group, Toshihiro Suzuki, told reporters Wednesday. "We aim to somehow introduce it by 2025," he said of the Japan EV launch.
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Suzuki will loose market share
Mr Suzuki does not understand that in 2022, today, Chinese car manufacturers are offering mini electric cars for around Rs 4-5 lakh. Suzuki by 2025, may have one EV model in their portfolio. On top of that the president of Suzuki does not have a clue and says “somehow” they will get the price to around Rs 8 lakhs.
Small Chinese cars will be all over the Japanese, Asian and Indian market by 2025 and later. We will also see Indian electric car startups start to offer their electric cars by 2025. Tata Motors plans to launch more than 10 electric car models by 2025. The competition for Suzuki will only increase. We have seen their market share fall below 45% in the Indian passenger car market. Their market share will only go down every year from now on. There is no guarantee the market will wait for Suzuki to get serious with EV’s.
The management at Suzuki don't seem to understand the seriousness of the situation. They don’t want to understand the trends of the market. Many of those executives have maybe never purchased a car in their lives, having lived off company given cars. These people are not in touch with reality.
Will Suzuki be able to compete with the Chinese car makers in Asia or Indian car makers in India? I don't think they will. Until Suzuki has a holistic vision for EV’s and announces a dedicated platform for EV or set up a partnership with a Chinese manufacturer and launch EV’s soon, they will continue to flounder and lose market share. By 2030, there may not be a Suzuki and thus Maruti in India.
So what do you think about Suzuki’s plans for electrification?
Mr Suzuki does not understand that in 2022, today, Chinese car manufacturers are offering mini electric cars for around Rs 4-5 lakh. Suzuki by 2025, may have one EV model in their portfolio. On top of that the president of Suzuki does not have a clue and says “somehow” they will get the price to around Rs 8 lakhs.
Small Chinese cars will be all over the Japanese, Asian and Indian market by 2025 and later. We will also see Indian electric car startups start to offer their electric cars by 2025. Tata Motors plans to launch more than 10 electric car models by 2025. The competition for Suzuki will only increase. We have seen their market share fall below 45% in the Indian passenger car market. Their market share will only go down every year from now on. There is no guarantee the market will wait for Suzuki to get serious with EV’s.
The management at Suzuki don't seem to understand the seriousness of the situation. They don’t want to understand the trends of the market. Many of those executives have maybe never purchased a car in their lives, having lived off company given cars. These people are not in touch with reality.
Will Suzuki be able to compete with the Chinese car makers in Asia or Indian car makers in India? I don't think they will. Until Suzuki has a holistic vision for EV’s and announces a dedicated platform for EV or set up a partnership with a Chinese manufacturer and launch EV’s soon, they will continue to flounder and lose market share. By 2030, there may not be a Suzuki and thus Maruti in India.
So what do you think about Suzuki’s plans for electrification?
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