The Toyota EV will be sharing its platform and powertrain with the upcoming Maruti WagonR EV as part of the alliance that Toyota and Suzuki have entered into.
Toyota has finally announced the coming of its first EV for the Indian market. Toyota’s chief technology officer, Shigeki Terashi, has said on Twitter that Toyota India’s first all-electric car will be co-developed with Maruti. He was qouted saying, “India is one of the countries we have in mind for BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles) and we want to introduce them at an early stage along with Maruti,” he was quoted as saying.
Sources say that this new EV will be sharing its platform and powertrain with the upcoming WagonR based electric hatchback. In fact, both Suzuki and Toyota have been looking for ways to partner in India since February 2016. In November 2017, both the brands had announced a Memorandum of Understanding to arrive at a joint strategy to introduce BEVs in India in 2020. The press release had said, “Specifically, Suzuki is to produce EVs for the Indian market and will supply some to Toyota, while Toyota is to provide technical support.”
Maruti Suzuki is expected to launch the WagonR EV in India sometime in 2020. It will be priced very aggressively as it will be able to enjoy considerable amount of subsidies under the government’s FAME II scheme, as it will be a made in India product. The WagonR EV is expected to have a real world driving range of about 130 km on a single charge and it will also support standard AC and DC fast-charging.
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However, Toyota is expected to introduce its version of the WagonR EV much later, perhaps in 2021. In fact, it will only follow the launch of a BEV for the European markets and that is expected to happen by 2020. There will be multiple variants that will be developed across the Toyota and Lexus brands, based on public demand for the models.
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This alliance between Toyota and Suzuki has already seen the first badge-engineered car being launched in India earlier this year – the Toyota Glanza – which is essentially a Maruti Suzuki Baleno. Also, Toyota will be showcasing a new, production-ready Ultra Compact BEV at the Tokyo Motor Show which will be opening doors on October 24. This two-seat vehicle is expected to go on sale in Japan in 2020, has a range of about 100km and can reach a top speed of about 60kph.
