Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corporation on Sunday said it will invest around 150 billion yen (about Rs 10,445 crore) by 2026, for local manufacturing of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) and BEV batteries in Gujarat. The company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect with the Gujarat government.

It was signed “on March 19, 2022 at India-Japan Economic Forum held in New Delhi, India, in the presence of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Suzuki Motor Corporation said in a statement. Speaking at the forum, Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) Representative Director and President Toshihiro Suzuki said, “Suzuki’s future mission is to achieve carbon neutrality with small cars. We will continue active investment in India to realise Self-reliant India (Atma-nirbhar Bharat).”

Under the MoU, the company’s wholly-owned arm Suzuki Motor Gujarat Pvt Ltd (SMG) will invest Rs 7,300 crore for the construction of a plant for BEV batteries at a land neighboring to SMG’s exsting plant by 2026. Also, SMG will invest another Rs 3,100 crore for increasing production capacity for BEV manufacturing by 2025.

Moreover, another group firm Maruti Suzuki Toyotsu India Pvt Ltd (MSTI) will make an investment of Rs 45 crore on construction of vehicle recycling plant by 2025. In November 2019, Maruti Suzuki and Toyota Tsusho Group had announced a joint venture for vehicle dismantling and recycling and set up a unit in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

SMC’s Indian arm Maruti Suzuki plans to enter the electric vehicles segment by 2025. The company, a leader in the mass market segment, has maintained that at the current prices it would be difficult to sell affordable EVs at mass scale.

Maruti Suzuki had earlier in 2019, tested an electric vehicle based on its WagonR with plans to launch in 2020 but decided against a commercial launch for personal usage citing lack of infrastructure and government support.