By Muhammed Hashim 
The Maruti eVX concept has been showcased by the largest carmaker in the country and the launch is slated for the coming months
The upcoming Maruti eVX electric SUV is about to launch in our market. It will be the first electric vehicle from the largest carmaker in the country. We have seen the concept model showcased at various auto shows in the last few months. However, one of the biggest challenges with EV adoption at the moment is the lack of charging infrastructure. While the work in this regard is going on rapidly by the government and carmakers, it will still take some time to cover the length and width of this vast land.
Maruti eVX Launch Gets Closer
As per various news reports, Maruti Suzuki is planning to establish 25,000 EV charging stations across the country prior to launching the eVX. That is a huge task. It will leverage its existing 5,100 service centres in 2,300 cities to achieve this. In fact, it is already in talks with oil marketing companies and energy firms to build a robust charging infrastructure in India. The ambitious aim is to install one dedicated bay and two charge points at the existing service centres. In fact, the training of the service mechanics has already commenced in Bengaluru. The prices are expected to be in the vicinity of Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh.
At the 64th Annual Convention of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in New Delhi, Maruti Suzuki Managing Director Hisashi Takeuchi said, “We will come up with a range of solutions for our EV customers to remove their concerns about owning an EV. We will use the strength of our network to give confidence to the customers for after-sale support.” The Indo-Japanese carmaker wants to sell 3,000 units within the first three months of launch. It will be produced at the Gujarat plant and sold via Maruti’s premium Nexa dealerships.
Our View
The EV market is growing in India as customers are getting access to a wide variety of EVs across various market segments. Car companies are constantly launching new products to woo customers. However, if issues like the lack of charging infrastructure, high initial costs, range anxiety, etc., are taken care of, people could be more willing to give electric cars a chance. When the largest carmaker gets into the game and pledges the charging infrastructure, perhaps, things will change rapidly. We will need to wait for the launch to know how well customers embrace the first Maruti EV.
Also Read: Maruti Suzuki eVX Just Months Away From Launch – Maruti Chairman
