Electric vehicles have had a rough go of it in Australia. Unlike many other countries around the world, we have no government subsidies to assist electric vehicle owners and Victoria is the only jurisdiction in the world where EV ownership is penalised.
This has led some experts to suggest that Australia is “a uniquely hostile market to electric vehicles.”
Part of the issue is the price. The lack of support from the government means that EVs are much more expensive here than they are elsewhere. A new Tesla will run you $60k plus while the cheapest EV you can get is an MG ZS EV which starts at $44,900.
Suzuki could be set to change all of this with the launch of its first battery-electric vehicle which will be a compact car designed for city driving.
It is understood to have a starting price of just $19,000, less than half the price of the current cheapest EV on the market.
Almost nothing is known about the vehicle as of yet but the car is thought to be targeted at India first, according to Suzuki.
“We have been saying that we will enter EV and strong hybrid cars in India by 2025,” a spokesperson told Reuters.
The new vehicle will be the first mass-produced all-electric car from the Japanese manufacturer. Currently, they make mild hybrid electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles.
Mild hybrids are vehicles using electric components to do the jobs of things normally powered by a combustion engine but they don’t drive on full electricity. They mainly preserve fuel consumption while having lower emissions overall.
It’s thought that Suzuki will be bringing a range of new mild hybrids to Australia soon with their Suzuki Swift, Vitara, Ignis, and S-Cross.
Because the new EV is going to be focused on the Indian market, it’s likely to have lower safety standards than the Australian market requires. That means that it could take a little longer than the proposed four years before we see them on our streets.
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