Chairman of Maruti Suzuki India, RC Bhargava mentioned in a recent interview that the WagonR EV was not launched in the market since it was way ahead of its time. Note that we witnessed the electric WagonR being tested on our roads since 2018. It was displayed at the MOVE Mobility Summit. With multiple instances of road testing, we expected it to have launched by now. But then we heard the news about the largest carmaker in the country shelving the plans altogether. Let us take a look at the reason why.
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Reasons Why Maruti WagonR EV Was Not Launched
In a recent interview of RC Bhargava with Republic Business, he explained various aspects of the WagonR project, along with his vision for EVs in India. He mentioned that Maruti Suzuki was eager to get the first-mover advantage and had plans of launching an electric version of the WagonR way back in 2018. There were 50 prototypes developed for testing. It was supposed to have an electric range of 130 km in real-world conditions and have DC fast charging capabilities. Using a DC charger, the battery could go from 0 to 80% in under one hour. An AC charger would do this job in around 7 hours. However, he said that the EV was too ahead of its time. One of the main reasons for that was its high price. He feels that it was too costly for the masses. Thus, Maruti Suzuki didn’t launch the EV.
Talking about the future, RC Bhargava confirmed that the first EV from Maruti Suzuki will be an SUV. We, sort of, knew that already since the Maruti eVX has been touted as the first electric SUV from Maruti Suzuki for quite some time now. As per the plans of Maruti Suzuki, we might get a glimpse of the EV “in about a year’s time or so” and “following this with three more EVs till 2030-31.” That is a clear indication that Maruti is pursuing electrification vehemently. However, RC Bhargava unequivocally states that there are still many challenges with EVs including the generation of electricity from non-renewable sources of energy. He is of the opinion that carbon neutrality can come through alternate fuels (like Biogas, CNG and Hybrids) and electric cars.
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Author’s Note
It surely looks like Maruti Suzuki is lagging behind in the EV race at the moment. However, it is working behind the scenes and is making sure that the infrastructure around EVs is developed in abundance. That is surely an interesting strategy. During this time, it will commence working on the eVX and other EVs. However, it will take time to develop a substantial portfolio of electric cars. It is also clear that Maruti will explore other alternative fuels too. Let us keep an eye out for further development in this space.
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