EV project does not have anything against shareholders: Maruti’s RC Bhargava

Brushing aside concerns raised by proxy advisory firm IiAS on Suzuki’s investment in the EV project, Maruti Suzuki Chairman RC Bhargava on Thursday asserted that there was nothing in it against the interest of the company and its shareholders as it is part of an earlier arrangement.

Countering the criticism from the proxy advisory firm, Bhargava noted that all models produced at Suzuki Motor Gujarat (SMG), including EVs, would be ultimately sold by Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) in the marketplace. IiAS has raised serious questions regarding the decision of the Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) to invest directly in the EV project instead of MSI doing it.

“This proxy firm had also come out against the establishment of the Suzuki Motor plant in Gujarat. The shareholders overwhelmingly rejected the advice of the proxy firm. The voting was overwhelmingly in favour of this project. What has happened now is just within that project only, there has been no new agreement,” Bhargava said.

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He said the deal had already been approved by the shareholders and there was nothing new to be opposed to. “It is already a done deal, this is not a new thing. I don’t know why they (IiAS) are opposing it. The cars made in Gujarat will be supplied to Maruti at a cost, we will sell the car, that is the arrangement approved in 2014, so what is new here,” he noted.

On the MSI’s plans on launching an EV by 2025, Bhargava said: “They (SMG) will manufacture it in Gujarat and sell it by 2025”.

He further said: “There are so many models SMG is manufacturing. They have a production capacity of 7.5 lakh units. So this (EV) is part of that.” When asked if the EV model would also be part of the same arrangement with SMG, Bhargava stated: “Yes.. nothing was said that the car that would be manufactured there (SMG) would only be with internal combustion ones…Any car which is manufactured there will be sold by us.”

SMG, a 100 per cent subsidiary of SMC, supplies cars exclusively to MSI. On March 20, SMC announced to invest around 150 billion yen (about Rs 10,445 crore) by 2026, for local manufacturing of battery electric vehicles (BEV) and batteries in Gujarat.