During his speech at the 64th Annual Session of the ACMA, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari criticized a leading Indian carmaker for not responding to his earlier appeals to go for electric vehicles. While Gadkari did not mention the name of the company, his remarks were seen as referring to Maruti Suzuki, India’s leading auto manufacturer.
Gadkari further said that those organisations not ready to embrace change, like the electric vehicle technology, stand to lose out on future business prospects. He emphasized on the need to implement cost-effective and environmental friendly technologies, saying that any organisation that has not done so may be in for a rough ride in the future. He said, “A good friend of mine who is a giant in the automobile industry… I kept telling him to adopt electric vehicles, but he never made the decision,” He further said. “Now, my friend tells me (that) back then we didn't take you seriously cause our experience related to politicians was not very credible”
The company has been under pressure due to its slow response to the EV market. Even though the market for EVs has been on the rise in India, and has increased by 50% year-on-year to 1.5 million units in 2023, Maruti Suzuki has only recently announced plans to launch its first electric car, the eVX, by March 2025.
The company has instead concentrated on pushing for a good hybrid technology, stating that it is a far much better solution in terms of fuel consumption and emissions without having to charge the battery as with electric cars. The Maruti Suzuki Chairman RC Bhargava has called for the adoption of CNG, ethanol, biogas and other vehicles in addition to electric vehicles.
Nevertheless, this strategy has been criticized by many, who consider it as a reluctance to go fully electric. The war between strong hybrids and electric vehicles has escalated, especially after the discontinuation of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme, which has seen electric passenger vehicle sales drop for four months in a row.
On its launch, Maruti Suzuki’s eVX will come equipped with a 60 kWh battery pack, which allows it to travel a distance of 550 km on a single charge. The model will be produced in the company’s Suzuki Motor Gujarat Hansalpur plant and will also be shipped to other countries.
