Owing to the rare earths shortages, Maruti Suzuki has cut near-term production targets for its maiden electric vehicle e-Vitara by two-thirds as per a document, showcasing the latest sign of disruption to the auto industry from China’s export curbs.
Maruti Suzuki Cutting On Near Term EV Production
This Monday, India’s top carmaker said that it had not seen any impact yet from the supply crisis and now it plans to make about 8,200 e-Vitaras between April and September.
This is far lower than the company’s earlier plan where their goal was 26,500, as per the company’s document mentioned in the media report.
Basically the Indian car maker cited “supply constraints” in rare earth materials that are vital in making magnets and other components across a range of hi-tech industries.
Moving ahead the document mentioned that Maruti still plans to meet its output target of 67,000 EVs for the year ending March 2026 by ramping up production in subsequent months.
How Did This Happen?
It appears that the China’s curbs on some rare earth exports have rocked the global auto industry and now companies are warning of severe supply chain disruptions.
Contrary to this, some companies in the United States, Europe and Japan are seeing supplies easing as they secure licences from Beijing.
In the meantime, India is still waiting for China’s approval amid fears of production stoppages.
Whe it comes to the e-Vitara which was launched amid much fanfare at India’s car show in January, it is crucial to Maruti’s EV push in the country.
As with this launch, the carmaker would be marking its entry in a segment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government wants to grow to 30% of all car sales by 2030 from about 2.5% last year.
This setback can also impact it’s parent Suzuki Motor as for this India is the biggest market by revenue and a global production hub for EVs.
As we know that the bulk of the made-in-India e-Vitaras are earmarked for export by Suzuki for its major markets like Europe and Japan around summer 2025.
In an earlier development last week, Maruti told reporters that the rare earths issue had no “material impact” on the e-Vitara’s launch timeline.
Media reported on Monday that there was “no impact at the moment” on production according to Chair RC Bhargava.
So far, Maruti and Suzuki did not release any comments in this regards.
In the meantime, Maruti shares trading on the Indian stock exchange witnessed a fall as much as 1.4% to the day’s low after the news.
