Osamu Suzuki, chairman of Suzuki Motor Corporation, spoke at the MOVE Summit in New Delhi and revealed that Maruti Suzuki India would start road-testing 50 EV prototypes. Just over a month since, the company has now confirmed that it has flagged off its prototype electric vehicles for field testing. This project is in line with the company’s plan to introduce an electric vehicle in the Indian market by 2020.
The prototype EVs have been developed exclusively by Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan; built at Maruti Suzuki's Gurgaon plant. Today, it is from the same plant that these EVs were flagged off by CV Raman, senior executive director (Engineering), Maruti Suzuki India.
“This extensive real-life usage of the vehicles in multiple terrains and climatic conditions will help the company get valuable insights that will help in the validation and successful launch of electric vehicle technology in India,” said Maruti Suzuki India. “Testing of these vehicles will also help Maruti Suzuki gather critical inputs based on customer perspectives and will help create a reliable and suitable electric vehicle.”
The company says these prototype EVs have been developed on an existing model created by Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan and manufactured exclusively for fleet testing in India.
Maruti Suzuki is also working on the next-gen standard WagonR for India which is expected to come early next year.