EV demand will pick up in India, but growth will not be very high, says Maruti Chairman

Maruti Suzuki India Chairman R C Bhargava

The demand for electric vehicles (EVs) will pick up in India, but the growth rate will not be very high, Maruti Suzuki India Chairman R C Bhargava said today, as the country’s largest carmaker started the production of its maiden electric model, the e Vitara.

Although the share of electric models in the passenger vehicle (PV) sales is witnessing a gradual growth in India, the contribution still remains very low.

For reference, EVs accounted for only 4.7% of the PV sales in July 2025, according to data from the industry body Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA). Their share was 4.4% in June 2025, 4.1% in May 2025 and 3.5% in April 2025. In FY25, it was merely 2.6%.

While rival original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like Hyundai Motor India, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors are offering EVs in the domestic market, Maruti does not sell any electric model at present. The e Vitara will be launched in India later this year (FY26).

The e Vitara is being manufactured at Maruti’s Hansalpur plant in Gujarat. It will be exported to over 100 countries.

Even as the e Vitara’s production has started, the initial batches are for the export markets. The very first batch will be shipped from Pipavav port to the European region, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, France, Denmark, Switzerland, Netherlands, Sweden, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Austria and Belgium.

“Till now everyone said that Maruti is not in the EV market and that we have missed the bus. So we have run and just caught the bus,” Bhargava said during a media briefing.

“If I have to start sales in the domestic market, I need to have a minimum volume that I can give to my dealers. At the same time, I will have to meet the export demand,” he added.

Maruti is targeting annual exports of 50,000 units to 1,00,000 units for the e Vitara initially.

When asked about EV demand, Bhargava said: “It will pick up. I have no doubt about that. It is not going to grow at a very high rate. It has not grown anywhere in the world at a very high rate. India cannot be an exception to what is happening in Europe and America.”

Talking about EV batteries, Bhargava said that their manufacturing has not yet started in India.

“No one is making EV batteries in India. That is one of the problems for EVs today. People are packaging cells into batteries. But the actual production of cells is not taking place,” he said.

Bhargava observed that the availability of raw material for EV batteries is another problem.

“If raw material is not available, then as an investor, what is my risk level, especially if raw material is controlled by one supplier? It is very high. That is possibly one of the factors deterring people from making investments in battery manufacturing in India,” he noted.

While the production of lithium-ion battery cells and electrodes for strong hybrid models has commenced at TDS Lithium-Ion Battery Gujarat Pvt Ltd, which is Maruti’s fellow subsidiary, the e Vitara-maker is not yet working on developing its own EV battery technology.

“Maruti is not working on battery technology. We are hoping Toyota and Suzuki will be working on it. That is one advantage of having a foreign partner. Everyone does not have to do everything,” Bhargava said.