Maruti plays ‘fresher’ on EV, and sticks to its strengths

After four decades in the mass car market, Maruti to enter EV segment with its debut eVitara

- Ayaan Kartik

After four decades of shaping India’s mass car market, Maruti Suzuki is drawing on an old playbook as it prepares to enter the electric vehicle (EV) segment, choosing to build customer confidence and supporting infrastructure before launching its debut model.

The move comes even as rivals scale up sales and questions persist over whether it has arrived late to the electric transition.

It's debut EV model eVitara is likely to be commercially launched in the January-March quarter, with bookings slated to open soon.

Before that, the country’s largest carmaker is looking to address key concerns that executives say have kept EV penetration low. Maruti is working to address three main concerns: lack of charging infrastructure, inadequate trained service technicians and low resale value through targeted strategies, according to a top executive.

In an interview with Mint, Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer of marketing and sales, said it did not make sense to launch the product in a market that did not address infrastructure and resale concerns of buyers.