Will enter EV space if it’s viable: Bhargava

NEW DELHI: Addressing shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting held virtually, Maruti Suzuki chairman RC Bhargava said the country’s largest carmaker is looking at the electric vehicle (EV) space but will enter it only when it makes it feasible for customers in terms of affordability and also for the company to operate without making a loss.

On the impact of the supply constraints of chips on production, he said, “Meanwhile, there has been a bit of a hit on production of vehicles and we have had to adjust but there is no major loss that we have to be concerned about.”

The current semiconductor shortage problem faced by the automobile industry is temporary and is expected to be over by 2022, he said on Tuesday.

Bhargava also said Maruti Suzuki India has outlined a capex of ₹4,500 crore in the ongoing fiscal for its various business purposes but the actual expenditure will be known only at the end of the year.

Responding to a query on the company’s plans for EVS, he said the company’s intention is to achieve leadership position even in the EV sector in future.

However, he added that in India EVS will be able to penetrate in large numbers only when these become affordable to consumers.

“Maruti will be in the electric vehicle sector. We will introduce electric vehicles, but we will do that at an appropriate time when it will be feasible to sell these electric vehicles,” Bhargava asserted.

He said at present the government’s focus is also on electrification of the two-wheeler segment, where companies like Hero Electric and Ola among others have been focusing on.

In the passenger vehicles segment, a few manufacturers have brought EVS “but the sales volume is very small and it has had no impact on the market share of MSI”, Bhargava said.