Thursday, August 26, 2021
By Kamal Swami
Reasons Behind The Delay In Launching EVs By Maruti Suzuki
Despite the efforts by the government for the adaptation of electric vehicles, country’s leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki seems in no hurry to enter the segment. The company’s Chairman, R C Bhargava during its annual general meeting with the shareholders on Tuesday, announced this. Going through the protocol restrictions due to global pandemic COVID-19 the meeting was organized virtually. Addressing the shareholders Mr Bhargava said, “The country's largest carmaker is looking at the electric vehicle (EV) space but will enter it only when it makes it feasible for customers in terms of affordability and also for the company to operate without making a loss.” According to him, the Indian car market will become fully electric only when electric vehicles are easily affordable to customers.
In the words of Mr Bhargava, "Maruti will be in the electric vehicle sector. We will introduce electric vehicles, but we will do that at an appropriate time when it will be feasible to sell these electric vehicles in reasonable numbers and when it will be feasible to sell them without making a loss on the whole operation."
It would be interesting to know that to encourage the use of electric vehicles in the country the government has extended the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicle) for two years up to March 31, 2024. According to Amitabh Kant, Chief Executive, Niti Aayog, for reducing carbon emissions moving to electric mobility is a daunting task for the Indian government.
