Maruti Suzuki plans to produce 70,000 electric vehicles, to launch another SUV this year

India's largest-maker of passenger vehicles, Maruti Suzuki , is planning to start the sale of its much-awaited e-Vitara electric vehicle—its first in India—before the end of September, said the carmaker's chairman, RC Bhargava. He added that in its debut year, the company will manufacture 70,000 units, with the majority of the production earmarked for exports.

"The reason why we have decided to export most of this year's production is because we want people to use of the performance and quality of the electric vehicle that we will make," Bhargava told media persons on the sidelines of a briefing post its fourth quarter and full-year results. He, however, did not give an exact breakdown of how many vehicles will be exported, and how many will be sold in the domestic market.

When asked about the volumes that Maruti Suzuki is expecting, Bhargava said it is premature to be making any projections about it. "It all depends on the infrastructure," Bhargava said. Hisashi Takeuchi, MD and CEO, added that the e-Vitara will be sold in the existing retail channels, and there are no plans to create a separate dealership brand for it.

Maruti Suzuki was the last among the homegrown brands to launch a battery electric vehicle, and unlike others, has not put all its eggs in one basket, with CNG and hybrid electric vehicles to be sold alongside. "It is not EVs vs hybrids. In fact, it is EVs and hybrids. The adversary that we want to vanquish are pure diesel and petrol cars," he said. "There is enough space for both electric and hybrid vehicles to grow."

Concurrently, Bhargava also revealed that the company will launch another SUV—which made 37.9% of its full-year sales and was its only passenger-vehicle segment that registered a positive year-on-year growth—this year. He, however, did not divulge any details about the forthcoming model. "You will have to be patient. Let the model be released, and then we will see if it is exportable or not. Even I have not seen the vehicle," he said.

Bhargava also said that the third plant in its Kharkhoda facility in Haryana—which was approved by the board earlier this month at a cost of ₹7,410 crore—will be commissioned depending on the market situation. The company has also not identified the site for its second facility in Gujarat. "Based on the demand that we are seeing, the capacity that we currently have is sufficient," he said.

When asked about any potential impacts from tariffs—and the threats of a full-blown trade war—Bhargava said that he is not pessimistic that the market will go into a recessionary mode, prompting people to hoard money instead of spending. "All these things will be worked out within the next two-three months. I don't think other countries will take cues from the US, because while US has an automobile industry of its own, the countries where we export, don't have a domestic industry. So, they cannot put up barriers for imports," he explained.