Maruti Suzuki to limit production for its e Vitara
According to a new report from Reuters, Maruti Suzuki was forced to reduce its production targets for the e Vitara due to China’s rare earth material export curbs. A shortage of rare earth materials essential for the production of magnets and other components is limiting the company from sticking to the originally planned volumes.
The electric SUV was first presented at the end of last year. Initially, Maruti Suzuki planned to manufacture 26,512 units of the e Vitara between April and September. Now, it has reduced the target to 8,221 units, 69% lower than the original volume. For Suzuki, this could mean a major setback as it has allocated the global production of the e Vitara to its Indian joint venture. The company plans to source the e Vitara from Maruti Suzuki’s Hansalpur (Gujarat) plant in India for more than 100 markets worldwide.
Maruti Suzuki earlier set a target of manufacturing 67,000 units in FY2026 (April 2025-March 2026) and still plans to achieve it by ramping up production in the second half of the fiscal year. The company has decided to bump the output between October 2025 and March 2026 from 40,437 units to 58,728 units. It will export the majority to European markets and Japan.
Suzuki has introduced the e Vitara in Europe in standard-range FWD, long-range FWD, and long-range AWD variants. The company uses a 106 kW/193 Nm motor in the base variant, a 128 kW/193 Nm motor in the mid variant, and two motors producing 135 kW of total power and 307 Nm of combined torque in the top-end variant.
The standard-range FWD variant of the e Vitara has a 49 kWh LFP battery pack delivering a WLTP range of up to 346 km. The long-range FWD and long-range AWD variants have a 61 kWh LFP battery pack that delivers a WLTP range of 428 km and up to 412 km, respectively. Suzuki will announce the prices closer to the launch in autumn.
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