Toyota to get Suzuki's first-ever EV as partnership expands

Toyota to get Suzuki's first-ever EV as partnership expands

MICHAEL GONSALVES

PUNE, OCT.30

Japanese automakers Suzuki Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation are collaborating on green vehicles as Suzuki Motor will supply its first ever electric vehicle built at its factory in Gujarat to Toyota from early next year, the two companies said in a statement on Wednesday.

They said the platform for the EV was jointly developed by Suzuki, Toyota and Daihatsu Motor. The green vehicle has been developed by Suzuki.

"We would like to learn from each other's strengths, compete, and further joint efforts based on a multi-pathway approach," Toyota President Koji Sato said.

“Suzuki will supply our first BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) to Toyota globally,” Suzuki President Toshihiro Suzuki said.

Suzuki and Toyota have previously collaborated on developing combustion fuel and hybrid vehicles for the Indian market, but not EVs.

The move also cements India as an EV hub for Suzuki, which plans to invest more than a billion dollars in India, its biggest market outside of Japan.

At present both Maruti Suzuki and Toyota Kirloskar Motor do not sell EVs in the country.

The EV, which will be a SUV, will have a 60-kilowatt-hour battery pack with a range of 500 kilometers on full charge. A concept version of the EV was showcased at the auto show at Delhi last year.

According to Toyota, the world's biggest automaker, the new model will be one of 10 battery-powered vehicles it will launch by 2026. There are no plans to produce the EV anywhere else besides the Gujarat plant.

Toyota sold over 108,000 battery-powered electric vehicles worldwide during the first nine months of the year, accounting for 1.5 per cent of its global sales, including that of its luxury Lexus brand, over that period.

Maruti Suzuki plans to add a fourth production line at the Gujarat facility with a capacity of 250,000 units per year, just for EVs.

It had previously said it plans to supply the EV globally, including to its Japanese parent as well as European markets.

Earlier, in their partnership, Toyota Kirloskar Motor sold the Suzuki Baleno as Toyota Glanza and the compact SUV Maruti Brezza as Toyota Urban Cruiser in India.

The two Japanese giants deepened their collaboration in development and production too in India.

Both started producing a new SUV model, Grand Vitara, developed by Suzuki, at the Toyota Kirloskar Motor factory. Toyota sells the Grand Vitara as a Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, the Maruti Invicto as a Toyota Innova Hycross, and the Maruti Ertiga MPV, as Toyota Rumion.