E-Vitara, Suzuki’s first electric car, will have a Toyota equivalent potentially already previewed by a concept - might we see it?

POTENTIAL for Toyota here to leap into the compact electric sports utility scene could theoretically realise via a new Suzuki battery car unveiled this week.

Whether Toyota New Zealand will dare take the plunge is far from certain; the brand on being approached for comment has decided to steer clear.

Inasmuch as it has been portrayed as a Suzuki effort, in the e-Vitara which Suzuki NZ has already signed off for local sale, but has yet to say when, is actually a collaboration with Toyota.

Japan’s No.1 is planning its own version of e-Vitara and conjecture is that the FT-3e Concept here, unveiled last October, gives a good idea of what it will look like.

Whether Toyota New Zealand has plans for the FT-3e once it emerges in production form has yet to be spelled out.

Regardless that is the clear market leader, the Palmerston North make has not found the going easy with its sole EV here, the bZ4X that was conceived in connection with Subaru (their’s very obviously being the Solterra). That conjoined car also presents as a Lexus that has also had a low-key run.

Conversely, Toyota New Zealand’s successes here mainly come from mild hybrid product, which have been the only genre to achieve year-on-year sales increases at a time when the overall new car market is down almost 15 percent.

For all that, it appears TNZ now is looking to chart a path with next-step plug-in hybrid, even though that technology’s sales appeal has been utterly battered this year, almost as badly as EVs.

PHEV is also the one technology that is absent from TNZ’s new car ranks, though it has presented in used import versions of the Prius and RAV4 it arranges to supply under the Signature programme.

In a meet with the handful of media it invited to look at the new Prado heavy duty off-roader wagon this week, executives from the Palmerston North-based reportedly left impression they can get brand new hybrids with mains replenishment capability and are keen to do so.

Presently the primary PHEV make here is Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand, which has see  interest in the Eclipse Cross and Outlander PHEVs plummet from the moment Road User Charges implemented in April. 

Prior to then, those two PHEVs were selling very strongly but since they have fallen drastically, with Eclipse Cross now being subject to a special pricing campaign that aims to reduce inventory count.

TNZ has some time to think about FT-3e as it appears Toyota will not have it in production until some time after the e-Vitara, Suzuki’s first EV, goes on sale, with initial availability limited to India, Europe and Japan.

While the Suzuki was shown off in Italy this week, the factory in India that is going to be the sole production source won’t begin roll-out until mid-2025. TNZ has never previously sourced product from there.

One interesting turn-up is that the eventual Toyota will also come from that Suzuki Motor Gujarat facility.

Suzuki boasts the e-Vitara has a lightweight structure, short overhangs, and no underfloor members in the main floor to maximise battery capacity.

As an e-Vitara, the car is powered by a lithium iron phosphate battery in 49kWh and 60kWh capacities. Both batteries can be offered in front-drive, but four-wheel-drive versions only come with the larger one. 

Suzuki did not share range estimations at its launch event but subsequently The Japan Times newspaper has quoted the make as saying the car can optimally get up to 400km on a single charge.

At its peak, the E Vitara motor is capable of 135 kW output.

This is the first time Suzuki and Toyota will share an EV but the two brands are already involved in rebadging each other’s vehicles before.

In South Africa, for example, Toyota rebadges the Suzki Baleno as a Starlet and in Europe and United Kingdom Suzuki rebadges the Toyota Corolla and RAV4 as the Swace and Across.

Toyota has a stake of around five percent in Suzuki.