New Delhi: Toshihiro Suzuki, President and CEO of Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), while interacting with the media on Thursday said that India will be the manufacturing hub for Suzuki Motors’ EV exports to the world. He said that small cars are the best choice for EVs, and that the company will shift its focus to small EVs in the future.
“India will become the world’s manufacturing hub for EV production.We will first export this product to Europe and then to Japan.We will take full advantage of India’s economies of scale and export it to the world. I want to do that,” said Toshihiro Suzuki.
Maruti Suzuki is scheduled to launch its first electric four-wheeler ‘e-Vitara’ at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025 on Friday. In conjunction with this, Suzuki also plans to unveil an electric scooter at the expo. e-Vitara is Maruti’s premium SUV vehicle.
The SMC president further said that India will become an export base not only for vehicles sold in India but also for other vehicles such as hybrid vehicles. SMC is the majority shareholder of Maruti Suzuki.
“The Fronx has been well-received in India and is now exported from India to 70 countries.We have a similar export strategy for EVs and other vehicles and want to develop India as an export hub for all models. ” he reiterated.
Regarding the slowdown in EV sales, Suzuki said that despite the global slump in the EV market, he believes that EV sales will continue to be strong in India. EV sales in India will increase by 20% to 100,000 units in 2024.
On the future of small cars in India, Toshihiro Suzuki said that small cars will not go away. He said there are more than one billion people who are switching from two-wheelers to four-wheelers and they need good quality cars at affordable prices, adding that Maruti Suzuki’s sales of small cars are lower than those of other manufacturers. It added that the sales are comparable to those of SUVs.
Regarding the company’s strategy to regain 50% market share in India, the SMC president said it is important to launch new SUV models in the coming years and capture the top market share in the SUV segment. “We will look not only at hydrogen but also at hybrid and CNG to expand our market share,” he said.
quick take
Exporting electric cars: to the UK and Japan
First EV – e-Vitara: Announced at Bharat Mobility Expo 2025
Electric e-scooter: to be unveiled for the first time at Auto Expo
EV sales in India: 20% increase to 100,000 units in 2024
