Suzuki establishes a battery factory in India

The Japanese car brand Suzuki has been in close exchange with Toyota since 2019 and is pushing ahead with its own models' electrification with Toyota. In the past, there have also been reports of Suzuki's activities in India, both on its own and with Toyota. Now it seems to become more concrete. The Japanese have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian state of Gujarat for the construction of a factory. According to this, not only electrically powered vehicles but also batteries are to be assembled there.

The so-called Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) provides for investments of the equivalent of 1.14 billion euros in Gujarat on the part of Suzuki. Specifically, the MoU was entered into by the subsidiary Suzuki Motor Gujarat Private Limited (SMG) with the state.  Suzuki says that SMG will invest the equivalent of about 370 million euros in the plant. The aim is to increase the production capacity for the manufacture of e-cars by 2025. Furthermore, 870 million euros will be invested to build the battery factory on a neighbouring plot of land to the SMG plant by 2026.

It is not clear from Suzuki's press release whether the company plans to manufacture battery cells in India itself in the future or whether it will "only" assemble purchased battery cells into battery packs there. There are also no statements about the planned production capacity or the cell chemistry. During the visit to India, Toshihiro Suzuki, deputy director and president of the Suzuki Motor Corporation, merely stated that Suzuki's mission is "to achieve CO2 neutrality with small cars".

According to the Nikkei business daily, Suzuki's investment plan will be part of an announcement by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during his trip to India. Overall, Suzuki will invest massively in India over the next five years. Suzuki has decided to build a new production line for electric vehicles in the country, which is expected to be operational as early as 2025, Nikkei said, without naming the source of the report.