Maruti’s EV Rollout May Face Near-term Capacity Limits; Expansion Due After July

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has said supplies of its first electric SUV, the eVitara, may remain constrained until July, as the company balances production across exports, domestic demand and contract manufacturing for other OEMs.

The company’s Senior Executive Officer for Marketing and Sales Partho Banerjee said the model will initially be built on a shared production line at the company’s Gujarat facility, which currently has a capacity of about 100,000 units.

“We have a line in Gujarat with capacity of one lakh units. But we have to cater to export demand, domestic demand and other models like the Fronx. So there will be some calibration till July,” Banerjee said during a media roundtable.

The Fronx, which is also produced on the same line, continues to see strong demand and has a waiting period in several markets. Export commitments from the Gujarat plant are also significant for the company’s global supply chain.

Maruti plans to expand capacity on the line after July. The expansion is expected to ease supply constraints and help the company scale up deliveries of the electric SUV in the second half of the fiscal year.

The eVitara marks Maruti Suzuki’s entry into the battery-electric vehicle market. The model will be produced for both domestic and export markets. The company is working to balance allocations between the two.

Banerjee said the company is focused on ensuring that waiting periods remain manageable. “We are trying to calibrate how to keep a balance between export and domestic markets. Customers should not have to wait for very long,” he said.

Maruti Suzuki remains India’s largest carmaker by volume. The company currently has an installed production capacity of over 2.4 million vehicles a year across plants in Haryana and Gujarat.

The Gujarat facility plays a key role in exports. It produces models for overseas markets as well as domestic sales. Several high-volume products share production lines at the plant, increasing pressure on capacity when new models are introduced.

Maruti is in the middle of a broader capacity expansion cycle. The company is adding new capacity in phases across its manufacturing network, including a new greenfield facility in Gujarat and in Kharkhoda, Haryana. Over the next few years, total installed capacity is expected to rise to about 3 million units annually.

In the near term, however, utilisation levels remain high. Strong demand for SUVs and export models has kept plants running at elevated levels. This has forced the company to carefully manage model-wise production allocations.

EV Push Gathers Pace

The e-Vitara is central to Maruti Suzuki’s electric vehicle strategy. The company is entering the EV segment after several years of preparation. Executives say the focus is not only on the product but also on building charging and service infrastructure.

EV penetration in India has remained around 4-5% of passenger vehicle sales for the past two years. Maruti expects adoption to accelerate as more models enter the market and charging infrastructure improves.