Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest car maker, is developing hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) that can be charged on the run, independent of power supply from roadside infrastructure.
The Delhi-based company, which has been slow in adopting EVs compared to peers like Tata Motors, Mahindra and Hyundai, is working on HEVs with another Japanese heavyweight Toyota.
In self-charging cars, an internal combustion engine (ICE) provides energy to the batteries besides wheel rotation which is an additional power source. Since batteries power the car such a vehicle delivers higher mileage than a pure ICE car.
In 2020 in Europe Suzuki had launched the Swace, a hybrid electric vehicle which was developed in partnership with Toyota since it is based on the Toyota Corolla estate. The combination of 3.6 kW battery and a 1.8 litre petrol engine the self-charging Swace delivers a mileage of 27 km per litre.
Car makers say India’s EV charging network is underdeveloped, prompting them to go slow in switching to EV mobility. Along with Maruti Suzuki, companies like Volkswagen, Renault, Nissan, Honda and Kia do not have any immediate plans of getting into EVs primarily due to the high acquisition cost and lack of adequate charging infrastructure.
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