Toyota Motor Corp and Suzuki Motor Corp said on Friday they will begin production in August of their first hybrid vehicle in India, as part of a partnership formed by the two Japanese carmakers in 2017.
The hybrid sport utility vehicle (SUV), developed by Suzuki, will be manufactured at Toyota’s local plant in southern India. The SUV will be sold in India and exported to markets including Africa, the companies said in a statement.
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The powertrains of the SUV will be equipped with mild hybrid developed by Suzuki and strong hybrid developed by Toyota.
Suzuki invests in India
Suzuki Motor plans to invest 104.4 billion rupees ($1.37 billion) in its India factory to produce electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries, Maruti Suzuki India, majority-owned by the Japanese carmaker, said on Sunday.
It is the first major EV plan announced by Maruti Suzuki for India in a bid to align itself with a national strategy to reduce oil dependence and cut debilitating air pollution in major cities.
Read more: Hyundai starts working on electric car for India
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday announced a 5 trillion yen ($42 billion) investment in India over the next five years during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
The two leaders were meeting to strengthen security amid the Ukraine crisis and improve economic ties between the two nations. Japan in recent years has supported India’s urban infrastructure development and the high-speed railway based on its bullet train technology.
In 2014, then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced 3.5 trillion yen in investment and financing over five years during a visit to India.
Suzuki Motor Gujarat Private will invest 31 billion rupees by 2025 for increasing production capacity for battery EV manufacturing and 73 billion rupees for construction of plant vehicle batteries, the company said.
Read more: In a first, India rolls out electric bus to curb air pollution
“Suzuki’s future mission is to achieve carbon neutrality with small cars,” said Suzuki Motor president Toshihiro Suzuki.
Reuters with additional input by GVS News Desk