Suzuki Motor Corp. announced on Thursday that it will invest 4.5 trillion yen (currently about 235.35 billion CNY, $34.8 billion) in research and development and capital expenditures to produce pure electric vehicles (EVs) by fiscal year 2030.
Suzuki is known for its compact “light” vehicles, and the 4.5 trillion yen investment will be divided into two parts, with 2 trillion yen (currently about 104.6 billion CNY) invested in electrification and autonomous driving technology and 2.5 trillion yen (currently about 130.75 billion CNY) allocated to building battery electric vehicle plants and renewable energy facilities.
Suzuki Motor said that of the funds earmarked for electrification, 500 billion yen (currently about 26.15 billion CNY) will be used to invest in batteries.
Suzuki will launch its first battery-electric vehicles in Japan in fiscal 2023, including a small sport utility vehicle and a miniature “kei” car. With cost-sensitive customers in mind, Suzuki president Toshihiro Suzuki said he expects the new cars to be priced at about 1 million yen (currently about 52,300 CNY).
Suzuki plans to launch all-electric cars in Europe and India next year, and the first all-electric motorcycle globally. The company aims to partner with Toyota to capture a larger share of India’s emerging electric vehicle market.
However, Toshihiro Suzuki also said the company is not abandoning its hybrid and internal combustion engine vehicle lines due to concerns about charging infrastructure, the cost of electric vehicles and concerns about battery resources.
For India, Suzuki’s main market, the company expects electric vehicles to account for 15 percent of its vehicle lineup by fiscal 2030, while internal combustion engine vehicles using biofuels and ethanol as fuel will account for 60 percent.
