Maruti Suzuki working with at Toyota on a small electric SUV codenamed YY8 – Report

Maruti Suzuki will launch a small electric SUV in India as the brand's first zero-emission vehicle, according to an online report. This SUV-like vehicle is internally codenamed YY8 and will target volume-based customers and will compete against the electric variant of the Tata Punch. 

Towards the end of 2018, Suzuki began road testing the Wagon R Electric prototypes. Despite this, the Japanese automaker has yet to launch any EVs in India, while Tata Motors has already launched two EVs, the Nexon and the Tigor. Tata is also committing to driving growth with huge investment under a new subsidiary. Maruti Suzuki has stated that it will enter the electric vehicle market at a competitive price. 

Maruti Suzuki is planning to introduce its first EV by the middle of this decade and working on expanding its CNG range as well as exploring alternative fuel options as a way to reduce pollution. Alternatively, Tata is planning to launch its long-range Nexon EV this year and has many mass-market EVs in development.

Read also: Ola CEO teases digital rendering of concept electric car, see pics

In the next twelve to twenty months, Tata is expected to debut electric versions of its Tiago, Punch, and Altroz. Toyota's BEV expertise may be leveraged in creating Maruti Suzuki's YY8 micro SUV, which might spawn a Toyota sibling, but this is only speculation for now. In 2024, the Maruti YY8 is expected to be revealed.

Developed in partnership with Toyota, the upcoming electric SUV will be produced in MSIL's Gujarat plant. MSIL expects to sell around 1.5 lakh units of the electric SUV per year.

It is expected that the electric SUV will cost less than Rs 10 lakh and it could have a range of around 300 kilometres.

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