It's clear the PV market in India won't grow fast

R C BHARGAVA, chairman of Maruti Suzuki India, projects 3-4 per cent growth for India's passenger car market, citing affordability challenges in an interview with Surajeet Das Gupta in New Delhi. Maruti's first electric vehicle (EV), the Vitara, will be exported first, with an Indian launch in mid-2025. Bhargava underscores the need for higher localisation and design changes to make affordable EVs for India. Despite Chinese competition, Bhargava is confident about Maruti's edge. Edited excerpts:

- Surajeet Das Gupta

You have just announced your first electric car, the eVitara, which will be exported initially. Why have you not chosen to launch it in the domestic market first?

The midsized EV will be priced at ₹20 lakh plus in India, so the volumes will be very small in the country. Therefore, we decided to build volumes by exporting it to Europe and Japan with both Suzuki and Toyota and then launch it in India sometime in May or June 2025. The volumes will help us reduce production costs.

Will you benefit from the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the electric car, for which you are eligible?