by Key Takeaways
- platform for a future electric vehicle that Suzuki, Toyota, and Daihatsu Motors are working together to build.
- A long-standing collaboration results in the first EV.
- SUVs with the Toyota brand will be introduced globally.
Production of the new model is expected to start in the spring of 2025, and Suzuki will provide its first electric car manufactured in India to fellow EV partner Toyota.
This will be the first production of a pure battery electric vehicle (BEV), even though the Japanese businesses have been engaged in other joint ventures since 2016.
Suzuki Motor Gujarat in India is scheduled to produce the new model. According to Toyota, Suzuki and Daihatsu collaborated on the new model’s exclusive BEV design.
According to the manufacturer, it will have “ample cruising range and a comfortable cabin” in addition to an all-wheel-drive system that can handle “rough roads” and provide “more powerful driving performance.”
Despite the company’s claims that the new model will be introduced globally, it is more likely an attempt to encourage the use of electric vehicles in India, something that neither Toyota nor Suzuki have been successful in doing thus far.
Suzuki is to invest over $1 billion in India, its largest market outside of Japan, according to Reuters. The Suzuki eVX, a concept version of the EV that is anticipated to have a range of more than 300 miles when it goes on sale, was displayed at the Indian auto show last year.
Toyota’s Beyond Zero ambition, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality with its goods, services, and operations, includes the drive to develop more BEVs.
The Japanese automaker currently sells more than 20 battery-powered cars, including plug-in hybrid and hybrid versions. But at the moment, the bZ4x is the only fully electric model that Toyota sells.
According to Toshihiro Suzuki, president of Suzuki, the two companies’ ongoing partnership would contribute to “the realization of a carbon-neutral society through a multi-pathway approach.”
According to Reuters, the world’s largest manufacturer has stated that it will introduce ten battery-powered vehicles by 2026, including the impending Indian SUV, which will be Suzuki’s first.
