Suzuki Motor Corp, the parent company of Maruti Suzuki, has revealed in its ‘Mid-term Management Plan’, that it is rethinking its India strategy, amid a declining market share. The press release shows that along with a 15 percent downward revision of its long-term sales outlook, the Japanese company will launch four new EVs in India by FY3031, down from the original six planned.
The plan stated in 2023 had six new Maruti EVs in the pipeline, but as per the new plan, there will be four. A similar revision has also been made to Suzuki's European EV plans. The company, which previously aimed for five EVs in Europe, now intends to offer four models.
Of the four EVs now planned, the Maruti e Vitara will be the first, with prices set to be announced in March this year. The brand has yet to confirm which the other three models are but the low-cost Tata Tiago EV rival could be one, and the e-MPV codenamed YMC could be another.
With the falling share of the entry car segment, slowing EV sales and retarding growth rate, Suzuki has also revised its long-term sales outlook for its Indian subsidiary downwards by 15 percent. The brand is now looking at volumes of 25.4 lakh units by FY31 as against the 30 lakh units target announced in 2023.
The company is targeting a slower compounded annual growth rate of 5 percent in the next six years as against the previous expected CAGR of 8 percent. Despite this, India will increase its share of Suzuki’s global sales during this period, accounting for 60 percent of its total global sales, up from 56 percent in FY24, and will remain its fastest-growing market.
Meanwhile, Suzuki projects its total global volumes to grow to 42 lakh units by FY31 from 31.6 lakh units in FY24. This is a CAGR of 4 percent over the next seven years.
That the overall projected annual volume is down 15 percent while maintaining the projected contribution of EVs to total sales at 15 percent implies a cut of 15 percent in its EV sales target as well. This translates to estimated sales of 3,81,000 electric cars in FY31, down from the earlier projection of 4,50,000.
Also see:
Maruti Swift S-CNG review: Effortless efficiency
Maruti Grand Vitara three-row spied, new details seen
Maruti Brezza price now starts at Rs 8.69 lakh with six airbags standard