Electric hybrid cars are being touted as the vehicles of the future due to the twin scourge global warming and climate change that human civilization is facing. These cars now could soon be seen on the streets of India, courtesy the largest automaker in the country, Maruti Suzuki. But, this might not be as easy as it sounds. This is because Suzuki Motor Corporation has not been able to draw any solution to the biggest constraint of launching such a vehicle in India – the absence of the necessary infrastructure. During the course of an interaction held at the Tokyo Motor Show, Senior-VP Suzuki, Toshihiro Suzuki highlighted this aspect while speaking on their forthcoming launches in India. He said that though India was progressing rapidly in most areas, infrastructure could be the critical problem when it comes to running electric hybrid cars in the country. The point of reference behind this discussion was the hybrid models from Suzuki that had been displayed at the motor show in Tokyo.
Two models from the company received enormous attention from the crowds gathered at this event. The vehicles that became the highlights of the company’s offerings were the electric version of the Maruti Swift as well as the Alto Eco. The Alto Eco, one may recollect, had received tremendous hype around a week back, when Suzuki had given a brief idea about this upcoming car. The Tokyo Motor Show became the forum in which the general public could get a first glimpse of this car. The technology used to drive mileage to an astounding 30.2kmpl has indeed crossed all levels of imagination. Another aspect that grabs attention is the 660cc engine provided. This engine has been their least-capacity engine till date and goes even below the 800cc engine of the Alto, amongst all engines designed by Suzuki.
The fact that they have mentioned infrastructure as the main criteria behind bringing the electric hybrid vehicles means that they have not restricted this launch aspect to just themselves. Also the fact remains that this is not the ideal situation for them to think over an electric engine. Maruti Suzuki has been greatly focusing on their diesel-engine variants as of now. In fact, the company has entered into an agreement with Fiat, the car manufacturer from Italy, for getting a supply of 1 lakh diesel engines every year. With the supply of diesel engines coming back to track slowly, the auto giant is not being able to dictate terms on the other variants like LPG and CNG.
