The automaker is focusing more on localisation and a multi-pathway roadmap to carbon neutrality.
29 Oct 2025 | 4338 Views | By Ketan Thakkar and Hormazd Sorabjee
Maruti Suzuki's long-delayed electric vehicle strategy proving to be a tough road with its first battery electric vehicle yet to debut in the domestic market. At the Japan Mobility Show 2025, Suzuki Motor Corporation President Toshihiro Suzuki acknowledged that shaping the company’s EV strategy remains one of its toughest challenges, ...
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Maruti Suzuki's long-delayed electric vehicle strategy proving to be a tough road with its first battery electric vehicle yet to debut in the domestic market. At the Japan Mobility Show 2025, Suzuki Motor Corporation President Toshihiro Suzuki acknowledged that shaping the company’s EV strategy remains one of its toughest challenges, even as it intensifies efforts toward localisation and pursues a multi-pathway roadmap to carbon neutrality.
“The battery strategy is a very difficult issue,” Suzuki said while speaking to reporters in Japan. “I really want to use Indian materials to produce cells or batteries in India.” He added that while Suzuki is closely watching global developments, including China’s tightening export controls on key battery materials, the company focuses on securing a sustainable, locally integrated supply chain.
Currently, India's electric vehicle dreams are powered largely by imported cells and batteries from China. Localisation of cell manufacturing is something that is being looked at keenly as made-in-India Li-ion batteries hold immense potential to drive the adoption of EVs, besides making the country less import-dependent.
However, the biggest challenge for lithium-ion battery manufacturing in India is the availability of raw materials. India lacks significant reserves of minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite, although some discoveries have been made in recent years. This forces battery makers to depend on imported raw materials. India's lithium-ion battery industry heavily depends on imports, with China and Hong Kong being the primary suppliers.
China commands a significant share of critical mineral processing and production globally. Across key commodities such as nickel, cobalt, and lithium, China alone is responsible for processing 65%, 68%, and 60% of the global output, respectively. The recent supply choke of rare earth magnets from China, which is very crucial for electric vehicles, has also come as a warning signal on dependence on imports for raw materials.
Recently, Maruti Suzuki’s RC Bhargava also mentioned that the absence of domestic cell manufacturing is a major obstacle for India's electric vehicle industry and heavy reliance on imports of raw materials is pulling back companies from investing in cell manufacturing for BEVs. He believes that relying on foreign countries for raw materials and technology poses a significant risk, and that Indian scientists have the capability to create their own solutions.
Highlighting Indian government’s policies focusing localisation and energy independence, Suzuki noted that India has a very clever strategy.
Reiterating Suzuki’s global direction, Toshihiro Suzuki said the company will follow a multi-pathway strategy involving BEVs, hybrids, flexible-fuel vehicles, hydrogen, and biogas-based solutions. Flex-fuel hybrids and CBG-compatible models are expected to play a pivotal role in India.
“We will have flex-fuel vehicles, CNG-CBG vehicles, EVs, and hybrid vehicles,” Suzuki noted, adding that that a single-minded push towards battery electric vehicles may not be practical across all markets. He said India’s large and diverse geography demands “region-specific solutions” across electrification, hybridisation, and fuel diversity.
“There are regions rich in electricity and regions rich in Gobardhan…We need to introduce products that meet each region,” underlining the diverse customer base and their needs in India.
Suzuki’s strategy reflects a pragmatic recognition that no single technology can deliver decarbonisation across all markets. The company believes achieving carbon neutrality requires balancing affordability, scalability, and the realities of local energy ecosystems.
By the end of this decade, CNG models, including those powered by compressed biogas, are projected to account for around 35% of Maruti Suzuki’s powertrain portfolio, underscoring the strong demand for cost-efficient alternatives in India. Traditional ICE engines and hybrid vehicles are each expected to contribute about 25%.
Suzuki reaffirmed India’s position as a cornerstone of its global operations, outlining an ambitious target of four million units of production capacity, with three million vehicles for the domestic market and one million vehicles for exports.
Suzuki Motor is doubling down on its commitment to India. The Japanese automaker sees India as its most critical market, and the country has become the number one export base for the company globally.
He emphasized that small cars remain central to Suzuki’s Indian strategy but acknowledged the need for careful technology selection. “Small cars are very competitive. We need to really consider which technology to put on them,” he said, suggesting that affordable ICE and CNG models will continue to play a vital role alongside hybrids and EVs.