Maruti Suzuki India has commenced the production of the e Vitara, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagging off the global electric SUV at the carmaker's Suzuki Motor Gujarat (SMG) manufacturing facility on August 26. However, do you know that the e Vitara is being made on the same line as the Fronx?
The SMG facility, which is now owned by Maruti, is spread over 640 acres and houses three plants with a combined annual production capacity of 7,50,000 units. Among the cars manufactured here are the Baleno, Swift, Fronx and e Vitara.
Although the SMG facility has three lines at present, there is no dedicated line for electric vehicles (EVs). Hence, Maruti is manufacturing the e Vitara on the third line, which is also used for producing the Fronx.
A dedicated EV line, with an investment of Rs 3,200 crore, will come up by the end of the current fiscal (FY26) at the SMG facility.
Maruti will export the e Vitara to over 100 countries from India. The initial batch will be shipped from Pipavav port to several European countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, France, Denmark, Switzerland, Netherlands, Sweden, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Austria and Belgium.
The initial export target for the e Vitara is 50,000 units to 1,00,000 units annually.
Although the e Vitara and the Fronx are sharing production lines, the question remains whether the former will be able to emulate the latter's success in the export markets.
Launched in India in April 2023, the Fronx is one of the largest-selling SUVs in the country at present. It is the fastest model in the domestic market to reach sales milestones of 1,00,000 units (10 months), 2,00,000 units (17.3 months) and 3,00,000 units (24 months).
While the Fronx is the maiden 'Made-in-India' Maruti SUV to be exported to Japan, it was the highest exported car from India in FY25. The Fronx took just 25 months to cross the exports milestone of 1,00,000 units.
The e Vitara price for the Indian market has not been announced yet. However, we do know that it has two battery pack options, 49kWh and 61kWh, and that the claimed top range on a single full charge is over 500km. Based on Suzuki's dedicated EV platform, Heartect-e, the electric SUV has seven airbags and Level-2 ADAS.
About the Fronx, we do know that it is priced between Rs 7.58 lakh and Rs 13.06 lakh (ex-showroom) in India. It gets a 1.2-litre naturally-aspirated petrol and a 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine options with manual and automatic transmission choices. Top features include a 360-degree camera, 9-inch SmartPlay Pro+ infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, six airbags and electronic stability control.
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