EV charger every 5-10km is the goal: Maruti MD Takeuchi

The India debut of the Maruti e Vitara, the brand’s first EV, was the first big announcement at the recently concluded Auto Expo 2025. Its India launch is scheduled for March 2025, and with it, the brand plans to break into the burgeoning electric midsize SUV segment, where it has already lost precious ground to rivals like Tata Motors, Mahindra and MG Motor. The e Vitara shows promise as a product, but true to Maruti’s legacy, the brand aims to draw buyers with a robust aftersales ecosystem, albeit one designed around EVs.

1. Maruti to install DC fast chargers in more than 100 cities
2. The e Vitara will be sold from Nexa showrooms
3. Over 1,500 EV-ready service centres across 1,000-plus cities
4. Free AC wall-box charger with every e Vitara
5. Rs 2,100 crore invested in the manufacturing of the e Vitara

Maruti ‘e for Me’ EV ecosystem explained

Maruti ‘e for Me’ is the name given to this ecosystem, which, like many of the brand’s efforts in its 42-year history, is geared towards an easy ownership experience. While many car brands will offer a home charger and free charging at the showroom on the purchase of an EV, Maruti will additionally use its vast nationwide network to put the consumer at ease.

There will, of course, be the de rigueur wall-box charger with free installation that will come with the e Vitara, but Maruti also has a grander plan to grow the DC fast charger network across India. “We will leverage our network to provide fast charging support to our customers in the top 100 cities in the first phase and then expand further,” said Maruti Suzuki MD & CEO Hisashi Takeuchi at the unveiling of the e Vitara. “The idea is, within these cities, a customer [can find] a charging port by Maruti Suzuki every 5 to 10 kilometres.”

While that should help alleviate range anxiety for EV owners, Maruti will leverage its vast network to ease maintenance concerns for new EV owners by equipping its workshops to service the e Vitara. “We are preparing over 1,500 EV-enabled service workshops, covering over 1,000 cities,” Takeuchi continued. “These workshops will have specially trained manpower and special equipment to provide all EV-related support, including charging.” This suggests there will be even more chargers than those proposed in the top 100 cities. There will even be EV-ready mobile service vans to reach vehicles in remote regions.

The final step will be a mobile app, which appears to be the standard partner app offered with most connected vehicles and includes features like real-time public charger availability, booking, and payment. However, it remains to be seen if this is restricted to Maruti’s own chargers or those from other brands as well. Of note, Hyundai has introduced in-car payments for charging across various charging networks in its new Creta Electric.

India to be the global EV production hub for Suzuki

Suzuki has invested Rs 2,100 crore in the production of the Maruti e Vitara, which will be produced exclusively in India for the world. “From here, we will export to more than 100 countries, including Europe and Japan,” said Suzuki Motor Corporation president Toshihiro Suzuki. “In India, we will utilise all our resources to build a BEV ecosystem to offer our customers an experience with total peace of mind,” he added.

However, it won’t just be the e Vitara but future Suzuki EVs as well, as India will be the brand’s hub for all EV production. “We have chosen India as the global manufacturing base due to its quality products and scale merits,” Suzuki said, as it would allow the brand to “leverage its global economies of scale and concentrate manufacturing at a single location for the world.”

The good news for the Indian buyer is that a wider selection of Suzuki models has the potential for launch here, unlike previous products produced in other markets with no potential or cost-effectiveness for India. What these EVs will be is anyone’s guess at this point, as they are still some time away from production, but a strong contender will be the Suzuki eWX compact electric hatchback, which could be a game-changer if priced right.