Maruti Marks 45 Years with EV Pivot, Says e-Vitara Launch Begins ‘Industry Transformation’

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd said its entry into the electric vehicle segment, with the rollout of the eVitara, marks the start of a new phase for the company and could reshape the domestic auto industry.

The company’s Senior Executive Officer for Marketing and Sales, Partho Banerjee, said February holds special significance for the carmaker. The company was incorporated in the same month 45 years ago with the goal of “putting India on wheels”. “Today, in the same month, we are getting ready to embark on a journey of transformation that will redefine the auto industry,” Banerjee said.

The company believes India’s electric vehicle market is nearing an inflection point. EV penetration in the passenger vehicle segment has remained around 4-5% for the past two years. Maruti expects that share to rise sharply as new models and supporting infrastructure come into place.

The eVitara will be the company’s first mass-market electric offering. Maruti says its strategy goes beyond launching a vehicle. The focus is on building a full ecosystem around charging, service and resale support.

Executives said the company spent the past few years addressing key customer concerns before entering the segment. These include public charging availability, aftersales support and resale value. “We feel it is not just the product but the overall package that makes the difference,” Banerjee said.

Maruti has been expanding charging infrastructure across its Nexa retail network and workshops while training technicians to handle electric vehicles. The company says this groundwork is meant to address key customer concerns around range, charging access and aftersales support before scaling volumes.

Earlier, the company’s Managing Director and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi had said the carmaker aims to set up more than 1 lakh charging points across the country by the end of the decade. Maruti has tied up with 13 charge-point operators and already installed about 2,000 exclusive charging points across 1,100 cities. Customers will be able to access these and more than 10,000 partner chargers through the company’s ‘e for me’ app, which integrates charging discovery, usage and payments.

Banerjee said the company will focus on highways and expressways as well, with plans to place chargers at regular intervals in key locations across the top 100 cities to improve long-distance usability.

Production of the e-Vitara began at Maruti’s Gujarat facility in August last year, with exports to Europe and the UK already underway. Parent Suzuki Motor Corp is positioning India as a global manufacturing hub for its electric vehicles. 

Maruti’s entry into the segment comes later than some rivals. Early movers such as Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra have already established a presence in the electric SUV space. Maruti’s more cautious approach reflects its focus on ecosystem readiness and scale before entering the market.

The EV push also marks a strategic shift for the country’s largest carmaker, which built its dominance on small cars and affordable mobility. Even so, the company continues to pursue a multi-fuel strategy that includes hybrids, CNG and flex-fuel vehicles alongside battery electric models.

Executives said this approach allows Maruti to tailor products to different customer needs while preparing for a gradual but inevitable transition toward electrification in India’s passenger vehicle market.