Maruti Suzuki cuts near-term e-Vitara production plan amid rare earth magnet crisis

Maruti Suzuki has slashed near-term production targets for its maiden electric car, e-Vitara, by two-thirds owing to the ongoing rare earth magnet shortages. The Maruti Suzuki e-Vitara electric SUV, which is the carmaker's first-ever electric car, is slated to be launched in India in September 2025. Ahead of that, the carmaker previously revealed its plan to make 26,500 units in the first and second quarters of this fiscal, between April and September. However, with the ongoing supply chain crisis, Maruti Suzuki has slashed the target significantly to 8,200 units. This comes as the latest sign of disruption to the Indian auto industry owing to China's export restrictions on rare earth magnets.

Reuters has reported, citing a company document, that Maruti Suzuki now plans to make about 8,200 units of e-Vitara SUVs between April and September this year, versus an original target of 26,500 units during the same period. However, the report stated that Maruti Suzuki still plans to meet its output target of 67,000 e-Vitara for this financial year ending in March 2026. For this, the auto company aims to ramp up production in the subsequent months. The report has stated that the company document cited supply constraints in rare earth materials that are vital in making magnets and other components across a range of high-tech industries.

Maruti Suzuki e-Vitara is crucial to the car manufacturer's electric mobility push in the country. The automaker previously showcased the EV in its production guises, and the latest was in production-ready form at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025. Upon launch, this will mark the entry of the automaker in the Indian electric vehicle market, where some of the key rivals such as Tata Motors, Hyundai, MG, and Mahindra have already launched their respective products.

Despite being a late entrant in the Indian electric passenger vehicle market, Maruti Suzuki hopes to become a leading player in the segment. For this, the OEM is betting big on the e-Vitara. In such a situation, this setback could also hurt Maruti Suzuki's parent, Suzuki Motor, for which India is the biggest market by revenue and a global production hub for EVs. The bulk of the made-in-India e-Vitaras are earmarked for export by Suzuki to its major markets like Europe and Japan around summer 2025.

Interestingly, this development comes days after Maruti Suzuki's Chairman RC Bharagava claimed that there was no impact on production due to the rare earth magnet crisis.

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