Suzuki built its first EV with help from Toyota. We only need to look at VW, Audi, Skoda, and Seat to get the concept that the automotive industry is rife with international tie-ups and joint ventures, with numerous brands producing comparable vehicles under different names.
Toyota, like the Volkswagen Group, has stakes in Subaru and Suzuki, two of the more well-known brands, and the three Japanese musketeers have been working together to co-develop automobiles for a very long time. Since Toyota now owns over 5% of Suzuki, the smaller business may fully benefit from R&D from its co-owner.
Suzuki stated that it intends to invest $1 billion in the production of electric vehicles and, like Subaru, will use a platform created by Toyota to launch its first EV. The investment in electric vehicles would be used exclusively to build a new factory in India, which serves as Suzuki’s largest market thanks to its partnership with Maruti.
Suzuki build its first EV with help from Toyota
The first Suzuki EV will probably make its debut in India, where the Maruti-Suzuki manufactured over 44% of the passenger cars sold there. This decision would result in an EV that is both truly affordable and smaller than the existing Toyota bZ4X and Subaru Soltera, which is good news all around. The new electric vehicle will be based on the Toyota bZ3X, which will completely replace the present CHR.
Suzuki has long made hints about its next electric vehicle; the Futuro-E prototype debuted in 2020. Now Toyota has shown images of the bZ3X which looks unsurprisingly similar to Suzuki’s concept adding more weight to all the rumors.
For many years, Suzuki and Toyota have had a successful working relationship. Toyota should employ Suzuki to launch a smaller electric car initially and sell it in the market where Suzuki enjoys a significant competitive edge. When bZ3X finally enters the market, it will be a more polished, upscale model with all of its quirks resolved.
