The folks who have been waiting to hear news about an electric car from the domestic automaker Maruti might not have to wait much longer. The company along with Toyota is reportedly working on an electric SUV which is expected to offer a range of up to 500 km.
While both the companies are working together on this project, their variants will have a distinct design and styling. According to an AutoCar India report, the Maruti Suzuki variant is codenamed YY8 and is said to sport a futuristic design and might look totally different from the auto maker’s existing ICE-powered cars.
Both the companies are said to be creating this vehicle for the international audience as well and will not be limited to Indian users. To recall, both Toyota and Suzuki had signed up an MoU in 2017 aimed at co-developing electric vehicles for the Indian market.
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According to this agreement, Suzuki will produce EVs for the Indian market and will supply some to Toyota. While Toyota is expected to provide technical support for the electric models.
Toyota-Maruti Suzuki electric SUV – What we know
For this car, both the companies are not following the tried and tested formula of fitting the ICE vehicle with an electric powertrain, instead, this will be designed from scratch. Reports suggest that YY8 will not be a compact car like the Wagon R. In fact, this is expected to be a 4.2-meter-long vehicle – bigger and wider than the Suzuki Creta.
As per the report, the car might have a 2,700mm wheelbase. The benefit of such a long wheelbase is that the company will be able to fix a bigger battery which further translates into a higher range.
The upcoming electric SUV from Maruti might come in both two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive variants. The two-wheel-drive variant is expected to come equipped with a 138hp motor and a 48kWh battery offering up to a 400 km of range in ideal conditions.
The higher-end variant with four-wheel drive might come equipped with two-electric motors churning up to 170hp, a bigger 58 kWh battery, and up to 500 km range.
On the other hand, the key specifications of Toyota’s version of this e-SUV are expected to remain unchanged, though the exterior of the car might look different as Toyota might change the length and styling of the car.
While it is not clear if Maruti Suzuki will introduce both variants in India, however, it is being reported that Toyota might launch both the two-wheel drive and the four-wheel-drive variants in India.
Additionally, the battery for this car is expected to be procured locally. TDSG, a joint venture between Maruti-Suzuki, Denso, and Toshiba, is expected to manufacture these batteries in its Gujarat-based facility.
The pricing of this car could be crucial. Considering the fact that this could be Maruti’s first-ever electric car, the company may want to price it aggressively. Reports suggest that Maruti might want to price this car Rs. 13-14 lakhs taking on the most popular Indian EV Tata Nexon. Though various factors like the chipset availability and component pricing will play a major role, however, let us hope that this turns out to be the catalyst that can help give the Indian EV market the required push.
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