India’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd will try to develop cars that will run on alternate fuels like ethanol and methanol along with the company’s efforts to launch battery-led pure electric cars and hybrid vehicles in the domestic market, said chairman R.C. Bhargava during the company’s 37th annual general meeting (AGM) in New Delhi today.
Apart from that the Delhi-based carmaker is planning to introduce more CNG engines for its cars in the years ahead in its effort to reduce carbon emissions from its vehicles.
According to Bhargava, the development of a policy for electric mobility is essential and electrification of the small cars continues to be a challenge for the industry since it will be more expensive than the ones that run on internal combustion engines.
“Trade war between countries and United States’ sanction on Iran have had an adverse impact on commodity cost. Hence the union government’s decision to push for electric vehicles is good,” said Bhargava.
In the last financial year Suzuki Motor Corp., Maruti Suzuki’s parent company, took significant steps towards electric mobility by starting a collaboration with Toyota Motor Corp. for development of small electric vehicles for the Indian market. The company also announced a lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in Gujarat in a joint venture with Denso Corporation and Toshiba Corp.
Bhargava, though, is of the opinion that electric vehicles may not be able to curb the increasing levels of air pollution in the national capital region centred on Delhi since cars contribute just 2% of the overall pollution.
“The cooperation between Suzuki and Toyota is because we want to give the best technology to the customers and also for the overall benefit of the nation,” Bhargava told shareholders.
