Maruti Suzuki Swift Range Extender said to return 48.2kmpl

Union Government of India recently introduced FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles), and to promote this further, the government has asked major automobile manufacturers to introduce more eco-friendly vehicles so that Indian car buyers have more green-car options to choose from.

Maruti recently announced that it is adopting new technologies to enhance fuel efficiency, and said that it would continue its work on bringing down vehicle emissions as a means to promote clean air. Keeping to this mindset, Maruti Suzuki is said to be ready to launch their first mass produced plug-in hybrid, in the shape of Maruti Suzuki Swift Range Extender or REEV.

Commenting on Maruti Suzuki Swift Range Extender or REEV,Kenichi Ayukawa, Managing Director & CEO, said, “Maruti Suzuki has always been known for class leading fuel efficiency. In the last few years, the Company has worked systematically towards reducing vehicle emissions and achieved new benchmarks. The recent new models, product upgrades and even minor changes have been substantially more fuel efficient than the outgoing ones. With Auto Gear Shift technology the Company is able to offer the convenience of an automatic without the need to emit more.”

He added, “Going forward, we will continue our focus on investing in new technologies and strengthen our capability to bring down emissions per vehicle by enhancing fuel efficiency of our cars.”

The Maruti Swift REEV has been displayed in India a couple of times earlier in the last two years, and is currently being natured as a pilot project by the government of India. The Maruti Suzuki Swift Range Extender comes with a 650cc internal combustion petrol engine along with an electric motor that can generate 5kw. In combination both the motors produce upto 73PS peak power and return a claimed fuel efficiency of a stunning 48.2kmpl.

It takes just 90 minutes to completely charge the lithiumion battery pack, which has a arrange of almost 25 kilometres. There are three driving modes to choose from, including Hybrid, Parallel Hybrid and Electric. In Hybrid mode the petrol engine charges the electric motor; the Parallel mode both the motors work in tandem; while in Electric mode just the electric power is used.

Since the 650cc engine, electric motor and the battery pack are imported from Japan, the Maruti Suzuki Swift REEV will be anything but affordable. But, the hybrid Maruti will benefit from the Indian government’s FAME scheme, which encourages electric and hybrid vehicles in India and offers incentive up to Rs 1.38 lakh for four wheelers.

This will help bring the Maruti Swift Range Extender within the reach of many hybrid car seekers of India. Currently, the only few hybrid cars available in our country are the Toyota Camry and Prius which cost over Rs 30 lakh a piece; while the futuristic BMW i8 is priced at a whooping Rs 2.3 crore!

Other Indian auto majors like Mahindra had showcased the Mahidnra Verito EV on World Environment Day earlier this month which will go on sale soon. The company also has the Reva e20 electric car on offer.