Country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki will only enter the electric vehicles segment when it is feasible to sell a reasonable number of units, Chairman RC Bhargava told shareholders at the company’s 40th annual general meeting. He added that the government’s focus currently is on the electrification of two-wheelers at present.
Bhargava said that in the passenger vehicles segment a few manufacturers have brought EVs but the sales volume is minimal and has no impact on the market share of Maruti Suzuki. While Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra are already assembling a line-up of pure battery electric vehicles for the Indian market till 2025.
Maruti Suzuki intends to have leadership in EVs, said Bhargava, further adding that it is important to understand that EV penetration will only happen in India when conditions are conducive for consumers to buy EVs. Maruti Suzuki’s focus in the short term is on CNG and hybrid variants till it is time to scale up EV operations, he said.
However, Suzuki, Denso and Toshiba are already working on localisation of lithium-ion batteries and are engaging with the vendors. Suzuki’s parent company said that India-specific EVs might be ready by 2025.
The Chairman also said that India has to follow its own schedule and not get pressured by timelines set by more developed countries on climate change, zero-emission and carbon neutrality. “We and the world have both to recognise the disparities in income and living styles and the disparity in the consumption of energy per capita in the developed world and India," he added.
During the AGM, Bharagava also said that company managements need to "curtail the kind of expenditures on themselves personally" as COVID-19 has highlighted the need to build internal resources with a frugal style of functioning. "Management themselves need, I think, to curtail the kind of expenditures on themselves personally. Recent shareholder action seems to suggest why a section of shareholders share this view and are voting on these lines and I think that's a good development for the whole of industry," he said.
Also read: Maruti Chairman RC Bhargava asks managements to cut expenditure amid COVID-19