An electric variant of the tall-boy would have been perfect for the urban-dweller, but that, unfortunately, won’t be happening. Here’s why
The WagonR is a well-known name and has been one of the best-selling cars in the affordable hatchback in the country. Maruti was looking forward to entering the electric mobility space with the WagonR EV and the battery-driven WagonR was spied on test on multiple occasions.
However, as per a number of recent reports, Maruti may not bring the WagonR EV to the Indian market. Here’s everything we know about the brand’s future plans for WagonR in the EV space.
The WagonR EV expected to offer over 120 km of range on a single charge
At the 2018 MOVE Mobility Summit, Suzuki Motor Corporation chairman and COO, Osamu Suzuki revealed the brand’s plans to launch an EV in 2020 and in line with the company’s announcement, Maruti Suzuki built 50 prototype units of the WagonR EV.
The prototype built at the Gurgaon plant was rumored to have been equipped with fast charging capabilities along with a commendable real-world range of 130km. While the car was spied on test multiple times since then, the brand never made an official announcement about the launch of this affordable electric car in the Indian market.
Swipe up to check all the details about why a WagonR EV isn’t happening.
The reason that the Maruti Suzuki is losing interest in the WagonR is the fact that the battery-powered iteration of this product might not be a business case. The WagonR EV would have to be priced about 60 percent higher than its petrol iteration and might not be an affordable option for the buyers in the Indian market.
The price of an all-electric WagonR would have exceeded Rs.10 Lakhs which means it would no longer have a strong case for itself as being an affordable city runabout. Maruti hence began expressing apprehensions about the sales volumes.
Around 50 prototypes of the WagonR EV were being tested by the carmaker in India
Increased costs of WagonR could be due to the fact that the brand is not following the quick and easy route of converting an IC engine into an EV. Maruti is not in complete control of its future following the partnership with Toyota and since Toyota is leading in the EV product development, the latter is pushing for new electric vehicles from the ground up.
Maruti was expected to launch the new WagonR EV in 2020 but the brand was yet to announce any official launch timeline of the WagonR EV
Now, Maruti Suzuki is preparing to launch an electric midsize SUV which will be based on the bespoke EV platform and will be larger than the Creta. The brand has declared that its first electric car should be on the road by 2025.
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Autocar, Rushlane, Carwale, GoMechanic, Google Images
Keyword: Here Is Why You Shouldn’t Wait For The Maruti WagonR EV