Toyota Will Sell Mass-Market Electric Cars In India; Partnership With Maruti Suzuki Confirmed!

Japanese automobile behemoth Toyota is all set to introduce a mass-market electric car in India, which will battery operated electric car.

As per reports coming in, this electric car will be mass-produced for India, and most probably, economically priced.

We have not received any information on the pricing front yet.

Toyota’s India Plan: Mass Market Electric Car

Just days before the highly anticipated 2019 Tokyo Motor Show, Toyota’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Shigeki Terashi has confirmed that Toyota is all set to introduce mass-market, electric cars in India.

He confirmed that a strategic partnership with Maruti Suzuki is already in place, and this new battery electric car will be manufactured and sold in India as part of this partnership.

He said, “India is, of course, one of the countries we have in mind for introduction (of battery electric vehicles). Toyota is large in Japan but has limited presence in India. Maruti Suzuki is large in India…With Suzuki we will explore the possibilities of BEVs (in India)”

Will It Be A New Version Of Wagon-R?

Last year, we reported that Wagon-R from Maruti is being reworked, and revamped to make it their first ever electric car. Launch is expected next year.

Now, as per Toyota’s strategic partnership with Maruti Suzuki, both automobile majors have been exchanging engineering technologies and concepts with one another.

The Toyota Glanza which was launched this year, is a renamed Maruti Suzuki Baleno, and the first product under this partnership.

However, Wagon-R won’t be the mass-market electric car which Toyota is planning to sell in India. And the reason is that, Wagon-R is being planned for mainly commercial usage, and not private usage because its costing is high.

The electric Wagon-R is expected to have an average of 130 km per single charge, and will support both standard AC and DC fast-charging.

Without sharing any more specific details, Shigeki Terashi said, “We will start with a compact BEV at an early stage… Since we are working (on it) with Suzuki, I cannot share the timeline.”

Auto experts believe that Toyota can use the fundamentals and concepts of Wagon-R, and maybe create a lighter, electric version, which can be priced less to market it to the masses.

We will keep you updated, as more details come in.