By Maruti Suzuki is India’s largest car manufacturer but the Japanese manufacturer is yet to introduce its electric vehicle and they exited the diesel market way before its competitors. Now the company is betting big on Hybrid technology thanks to the huge success of Grand Vitara in which hybrid models account for 15-20 per cent. The Grand Vitara uses the Hybrid technology of Toyota which is known for its reliability. Apart from Grand Vitara, the new Invicto MPV based on Toyota Innova Hycross also uses the same tech but numbers are not in the same league as Grand Vitara.
According to new reports, Maruti Suzuki is planning to introduce Hybrid technology in its mass-market cars. But the company is not going to use Toyota’s technology instead Maruti Suzuki is developing it in-house as cost is going to be a major hurdle. Instead of the Parallel-Series tech like those on Toyota, the company choose to take the Series Hybrid tech as it will be simpler and the overall cost will be low too. In Series Hybrid Tech, the engine basically act as a generator and the power for the wheels is coming from battery.
The new Hybrid powertrain is codenamed as HEV and it is also called range extender hybrid, this technology is used in many hybrid cars around the world. This technology is not very highway which is the only downside but reports indicate that the fuel efficiency on cars with technology to around 35-40 kmpl. The first model to come with this technology is likely to be Fronx facelift followed by Baleno and Swift. The upcoming three-row SUV based on Grand Vitara is likely to be the most expensive model from Maruti to come with series Hybrid technology.
