India will the Japanese company's hub for Suzuki Motors global EV production.
26 Aug 2025 | 6805 Views | By Kiran Murali
India's largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, started the production of its first electric vehicle - the eVitara - at its Hansalpur facility in Gujarat on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the production.
The eVitara, unveiled at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo last year, is the first of four ...
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India's largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, started the production of its first electric vehicle - the eVitara - at its Hansalpur facility in Gujarat on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the production.
The eVitara, unveiled at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo last year, is the first of four battery electric vehicles (BEVs) that the company plans to launch by the end of this decade. Maruti Suzuki had earlier set a target of producing 67,000 electric vehicles in the financial year 2026.
The bulk of this volume will be exported. The initial batch of e-Vitara models will be shipped to Europe. The first markets to receive the vehicle will be the UK, Germany, Norway, France, Denmark, Switzerland, Netherlands, Sweden, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Austria, and Belgium, the company said.
While inaugurating the production of the eVitara, Modi noted that Maruti Suzuki’s Gujarat plant and the production of the e-Vitara will be a "big leap" toward the government's Make in India initiative. “
This “Make in India, Make for the World” is a big leap towards our goal. From today, electric vehicles made in India will be exported to 100 countries,” Modi said. “Now, in dozens of countries around the world, the EVs running there will carry the mark -Made in India.”
According to RC Bhargava, Maruti Suzuki will be targeting to export between 50,000 and 100,000 units for the electric vehicle, while the company is yet to decide on the timeline for launching the model in India.
Maruti Suzuki has been relatively late to enter India’s electric vehicle market compared to early movers like Tata Motors and Mahindra. This head start has helped Tata Motors become the country’s largest electric carmaker over the past few years.
Globally, several automakers are scaling back their electrification plans due to slowing demand, high vehicle prices, insufficient charging infrastructure, and growing competition from cheaper Chinese rivals.
In India, however, competition in the EV market is expected to intensify significantly as all major OEMs launch mass-market models and work to improve charging infrastructure.
Last year, Maruti Suzuki stated its aim to become the largest electric carmaker in India in the first year of eVitara production. Unlike many other OEMs, Maruti Suzuki is pursuing a multi-fuel strategy for decarbonization.
This approach includes vehicles powered by various fuel types — battery electric, hybrid, CNG, and flex-fuel — tailored to the specific needs of different regions.
By FY2031, CNG models, including those running on compressed biogas, are expected to be the largest contributor to Maruti Suzuki’s powertrain mix in India, accounting for 35%. This reflects the strong adoption of CNG vehicles in India’s cost-conscious market. Traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and hybrid models are each projected to make up 25% of the mix.
Meanwhile, the parent company, Suzuki Motor Corporation, is positioning India as a hub for electric vehicle production. India is the largest market for the Japanese automaker, accounting for over 61% of its total production and 57% of global sales in the previous financial year.
The Hansalpur plant in Gujarat, which can produce up to 750,000 vehicles annually across three production lines, was recently transferred to Maruti Suzuki from Suzuki Motor Corp. The Indian subsidiary currently has an annual production capacity of 2.35 million vehicles across three plants — two in Haryana (Gurugram and Manesar) and one in Gujarat.
Maruti Suzuki has also announced plans to nearly double its production capacity to 4 million vehicles by the end of the decade. It has recently commenced production at its new greenfield plant in Kharkhoda, Haryana, with an initial capacity of 250,000 units. Another greenfield plant is under planning in Gujarat.