Maruti Suzuki’s electric SUV, eVX, to be made in Gujarat factory
AHMEDABAD: India’s leading car maker Maruti Suzuki will manufacture its first all-electric car, a sports utility vehicle (SUV) called ‘eVX’ from its Hansalpur factory in Gujarat in 2024-2025, a senior company official said on the Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corporation’s first vehicle in this segment.
Suzuki Motor Gujarat Private Ltd (SMG), the entity operating the car manufacturing plant in Hansalpur, is a fully-owned subsidiary of Maruti Suzuki. It began its operations in February 2017.
“Our first electric vehicle (EV) SUV will be produced from SMG’s factory in Hansalpur in 2024-25. Currently, the facility has three plants and to manufacture the EV, a new plant or new production line will be integrated into the existing setup,” said Rahul Bharti, executive director (corporate affairs) at Maruti Suzuki, during a press briefing in Ahmedabad.
The eVX will come with a 60kWh battery pack promising a range of about 560 km on a full charge, he added.
In March 2022, SMG signed an MoU with the Gujarat government to invest ₹3,100 crore in the Hansalpur plant for EV manufacturing, Bharti said.
The world premiere of Suzuki’s EV concept model eVX was made at the Maruti Suzuki Pavilion at Auto Expo 2023 in Delhi in January.
SMG surpassed the milestone of making 3 million cars at the plant on December 4, said Bharti.
“SMG commenced operations in February 2017 and within around 6 years and 11 months it has achieved the 3 million cumulative production mark. Notably, the last one million units were manufactured in just about 17 months,” he said.
This Gujarat facility of Maruti Suzuki has an annual production capacity of 750,000 lakh units. Vehicles manufactured here are sold in both domestic as well as export markets, he added.
He said that 50% of all cars exported by Maruti Suzuki have been manufactured at their facility in Hansalpur.