Suzuki Unveils Its First Purely Electric Car

Suzuki Motor Corporation has unveiled its first series-production electric (BEV) model, the e-Vitara, which is of strategic importance for the company, the communications manager of Magyar Suzuki Plc., Zsuzsanna Bonnár-Csonka told MTI on Monday.

She added that the vehicle, presented in Milan, Italy, will go into production in India in spring 2025 and will be launched for sale in Europe, India and Japan next summer.

Equipped with battery packs with capacities of 49 and 61 kilowatt-hours, the car will also come with a permanent four-wheel drive with the more powerful power source, which will provide off-road capabilities.

Vitara's petrol and hybrid predecessors are produced at the company's Hungarian plant in Esztergom, northwest of Budapest.

In June, Magyar Suzuki Plc. CEO Atsumi Masato said that the Japanese carmaker plans to introduce five electric models by 2030 as part of the green transition in the automotive industry, and Magyar Suzuki's ambition is to have the Esztergom plant involved in their production.

Two models, the Vitara and the S-Cross, are currently produced in Esztergom, and 88.5% of the more than 160,000 vehicles produced here in 2023 will be hybrid vehicles. Magyar Suzuki Plc. sells its vehicles in 123 countries on five continents.

In Hungary, the Vitara was the most popular model among new car buyers this year, with 5,346 units sold between January and September this year.

The company achieved net sales of EUR 2.871 billion in 2023, up 33.9% on 2022. Domestic sales amounted to EUR 272.6 million and export sales to EUR 2.598 billion. Their profit after tax was EUR 141.7 million.