Capitalising on its leadership in the multi-purpose vehicle space, Maruti Suzuki, the country’s largest carmaker plans to add an electric MPV following its first electric SUV eVX scheduled for the first half of 2025.
Sources say an electric MPV codenamed YMC is based on the same born EV architecture as the YY8 mid-size SUV. The MPV, much like the electric SUV is likely to be shared with Toyota and may have a significant export share.
The MPV is scheduled to hit the roads in 2026 and is expected to bring in a potential incremental volume of over 50,000 units to 1 lakh units annually.
The model will challenge the BYD E6 MPV and will take on Kia’s Caren based MPV EV which is scheduled to be launched in 2025-26.
Between the YY8 SUV (eVX) and YMC MPV – the company is eying a combined production volume of 2.5 lakh units per annum in a short span of 2-3 years of market launch, say people in the know.
“If all goes as per the plan, Maruti Suzuki may be the largest producer of EVs in the country by 2027-28. Not only will the upcoming SUV and MPV cater to the Indian market but it has a very high exports volume. Plus, the model will be shared with Toyota for the Indian market,” said one of the four people in the know of the development.
Autocar had exclusively reported that Maruti Suzuki is readying a mega product onslaught in the next few years. Not only is the brand bringing in hybrid versions of the Baleno, Fronx, Swift and more, but it is also working on expanding its overall product portfolio with as many as eight new cars, SUVs and MPVs, including three EVs. One of the models that will arrive later, will be an all-electric MPV, which has been codenamed YMC.
Much like the mainstream ICE and alternate fuel segments, even with EVs – Maruti Suzuki intends to have different body styles ranging from mid-size SUVs and MPVs to hatchbacks and crossovers. There may be a potential off-road SUV basis the silhouettes of the EV portfolio that it shared in its 2031 long-term plan with the investors.
The company plans to have half a dozen EVs till 2030-31 and expects a volume contribution of about 15% of its total sales.
The company has in fact announced that there is a significant global plan, with the export of EVs from India. The upcoming eVX SUV will be first shipped to Europe and Japan before the launch in India. Similarly, there are plans to export the MPV to key markets.
Maruti Suzuki’s EV play is heavily supported by Toyota. While the eVX and the upcoming MPV will be based on Toyota’s vehicle architecture – the smaller compact EVs are likely to be based on Suzuki’s own EV architecture.
Maruti YMC EV MPV India details
The born-EV architecture that Maruti and Toyota are jointly developing for the eVX SUV will be able to accommodate multiple body styles. An MPV based on the derivative of the 27PL skateboard – as mentioned above, its internal code is YMC – will make its way to India about a year and a half after the eVX.
When the Maruti YMC launches in production form by September 2026, it will be Maruti Suzuki’s first electric MPV, and the fifth three-row model from the brand, after the Ertiga, XL6, Invicto, upcoming Grand Vitara-based seven-seater SUV. The Suzuki Spacia-based hybrid MPV which is likely to follow MPV EV, will make it half a dozen 3 rows in the market.
While not many details of the upcoming EVs have been revealed so far, the electric MPV, YMC is likely to share the eVX’s battery options – both the 40kWh unit and the 60kWh one, the electric motor, and other powertrain components.
The YMC should have a similar maximum claimed range as the eVX’s 550km. In a bid to increase economies of scale, expect the interior and the exterior of the SUV and MPV will also share more than a few bits of architecture.
