Tata, MG, Mercedes, Kia, and Mahindra have made their entry into the EV segment in India, and now the largest car manufacturing company in the country, Maruti Suzuki is also about to launch their first EV. The parent company of Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), Suzuki Motor Corporation, recently unveiled its EV vision for the global market, which largely includes the Indian market. Suzuki has six battery electric vehicles (BEV) launches planned for India by FY2030. The company has recently released a teaser image of these 6 upcoming EVs and one of them seems to be the electric version of the Wagon R. Maruti Suzuki has not yet confirmed when will they launch the electric Wagon R but because of the teaser image, we know for sure that it’s coming soon.
Maruti Suzuki first started testing the electric version of Wagon R in 2018 but because of not getting satisfying results Maruti stopped testing electric vehicles and waited for the EV market to become a little more mature. That is why Maruti Suzuki hasn’t launched an EV yet. But now that the EV market is on a growing scale in India and the charging infrastructure is also getting settled, Maruti Suzuki has announced that they will launch 6 EVs in India by 2030.
The EV technology has improved significantly since its first arrival and Indian consumers are now considering the EV as a reliable option. To also dominate the EV segment of India, Maruti Suzuki is setting up local battery manufacturing units to bring down the costs of EVs. By providing low-cost EVs Maruti will be able to bring a huge number of sales. The Electric Wagon R will be Maruti’s entry-level EV car. Currently, the entry-level car of Maruti is the Alto 800 but we don’t think that Maruti will launch an EV variant of the Alto 800.
The exact design of the Electric Wagon R is not possible to describe because the teaser image doesn’t reveal many details but by the shape and design of the headlights, we can say that it looks like the stylish version of Wagon R sold in Japan. The Electric Wagon R could be based on the upcoming generation of the petrol-engine Wagon R. It will get many EV cosmetics but it will retain typical Wagon R visual characteristics. The features of the Electric Wagon R are expected to be similar to the current petrol variant. Like it will have an infotainment touchscreen system and powered ORVMs. It could also get features like auto AC, LED lighting elements, and an EV-centric instrument cluster.
The Electric Wagon R is expected to be offered with more than one battery pack size and charging option. Talking about the range, it will likely give a range of more than 300km on a single full charge. The price of the Electric Wagon R is expected to be around Rs. 8.5 lakh (Ex-showroom). The competitors of the Electric Wagon R will be Tata Tiago EV and Citroen eC3. They have a range of 315km and 320km respectively. The Electric Wagon R will not be the first EV of Maruti Suzuki as this title will be carried by the upcoming eVX SUV. The price of the eVX SUV will be around Rs. 20 lakh (Ex-showroom).
