Suzuki to invest ₹10,445 cr to locally manufacture EVs, EV batteries in Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: Unveiling its big-ticket investment plans in India’s electric vehicles (EV) space, Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) on Sunday said it plans to invest 150 billion yen (about ₹10,445 crore) for locally manufacturing EVs and EV batteries in Gujarat.

For this, the company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat government, SMC announced on Sunday.

“The MOU was signed on 19 March 2022 at India-Japan Economic Forum held in New Delhi, India, in the presence of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” according to the company announcement.

As part of the MoU, SMC’s wholly owned Suzuki Motor Gujarat Pvt Ltd (SMG) will invest ₹7,300 crore for the construction of a battery plant near SMG’s automobile manufacturing unit by 2026. SMG will invest another ₹3,100 crore for ramping up production capacity for EVs by 2025, the company said. Another group firm Maruti Suzuki Toyotsu India Pvt Ltd will invest ₹45 crore in construction of vehicle recycling plant by 2025.

Speaking at the forum, SMC representative director and president Toshihiro Suzuki said Suzuki’s future mission is to achieve carbon neutrality with small cars.

“We will continue active investment in India to realise self-reliant India (Atma-Nirbhar Bharat),” he was quoted as saying in the company statement.