Maruti Suzuki to focus on CNG cars; plans to enter EV segment by 2025

Currently, Maruti Suzuki India does not produce any diesel cars and only offers petrol and CNG fuelled models. But now, the automaker has plans of entering the electric vehicle segment as well.

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Maruti Suzuki is presently focusing on the CNG category in order to meet demand sparked by rising gasoline prices as well as increased environmental concerns. By 2025, the automaker also intends to enter the electric vehicle market. The entry of the Indian carmaker in the EV market has been long overdue as the competition has been advancing in the field with their new models.

In a conversation with IANS, Maruti Suzuki India`s Senior Executive Director, Sales and Marketing, Shashank Srivastava, said that demand for CNG cars has gone up dramatically due to the favourable cost of running such vehicles.

"At current prices, the running cost of a petrol car is around Rs 5.25 for a kilometre; for CNG, it is one-third of the cost of petrol," Srivastava said.

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"We are trying to get our production numbers in line with the consumer demands for CNG. The year before last, we sold 106,000 CNG cars; last year, we sold 162,000; this year, we will be doing 235,000 with an intent to further raise the bar in 2023," he added.

Notably, the company does not produce any diesel cars and only offers petrol and CNG fuelled models.

On the company`s plans to enter the EV segment, Srivastava said: "We have announced that by 2025, we will bring out our first EV." The company has not disclosed the specifications of its upcoming EV.

Besides, he said that the segment currently faces high acquisition costs and unavailability of large-scale charging infrastructure.

"We have to consider two major barriers as of now, the cost of EV acquisition and infrastructure for charging," he said. In addition, the company plans to increase its share of the fast-growing SUV segment.

"We plan to expand our SUV portfolio. The segment has grown by 40 per cent this year (2021-22). Our SUV portfolio is not diverse; we only have 2 out of the 46 available SUV models in the Indian market. But we are a market leader in entry-level SUVs due to the Vitara Brezza," Srivastava said.

With inputs from IANS