Maruti Suzuki joins India’s EV PLI scheme in major clean mobility boost
Maruti Suzuki’s inclusion in the EV PLI scheme could raise incentive disbursals, scale local EV manufacturing and accelerate India’s transition to cleaner mobility as the country’s largest carmaker ramps up electric rollout.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has been directly added to the list of companies eligible for incentives under the government’s ₹25,000 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for electric vehicles—a move that could boost EV adoption and support India’s clean mobility push.
According to officials and experts, the inclusion is significant given Maruti’s roughly 40% share of India’s passenger vehicle market. Its participation could help scale up EV production, improve utilization of the PLI outlay, and advance the government’s localization and clean fuel targets.
The ministry of heavy industries updated the beneficiary list on 27 January, marking the first revision to the PLI roster in four years, with Maruti Suzuki among the newly named companies.
Earlier, a subsidiary of the company that ran the Hansalpur facility—Suzuki Motor Gujarat Private Ltd (SMGPL)—was mentioned in the list. The update comes after Maruti Suzuki completed the amalgamation of SMG into the parent company in December.
The latest development will now allow Maruti Suzuki to apply for PLI incentives, which are granted only if the company meets the government’s strict localization criteria. Rivals such as Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra have already begun claiming incentives under the scheme.
Officials believe Maruti’s potential inclusion could bring much-needed scale to the government’s flagship EV manufacturing incentive scheme, especially as annual allocations have remained underutilized so far.
Scheme utilization
In its first year of disbursals (FY25), the government disbursed ₹322 crore out of an allocated ₹604 crore, followed by about ₹2,000 crore out of an allocation of ₹2,800 crore.
According to the PLI-Auto scheme’s operational guidelines, the government planned to disburse ₹604 crore in the first year, ₹3,150 crore in the second year, ₹5,925 crore in the third year, ₹7,199 crore in the fourth year and ₹9,060 crore in the fifth year.
A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said:
"Till now, a major company has not joined the PLI-Auto scheme. When Maruti Suzuki enters the scheme and begins claiming incentives, the disbursals will rise significantly, and could help reach the goal of disbursing the scheme's full outlay by the stipulated time."
EV rollout
Maruti Suzuki began exports of its first EV, eVitara, in August last year, while domestic sales are yet to begin. The company had earlier said domestic sales would start in the January–March quarter of the current financial year.
If found eligible under the scheme, an automaker can claim incentives ranging from 8% to 18% of determined sales value, which can be crucial for profitability.
“In exports, the e-Vitara is expected to be profitable at the Ebit level from Day 1 itself," analysts at Motilal Oswal wrote in a note on 26 August last year.
Structural shift
After the scheme was launched in 2021, the government released a list of 82 companies eligible to apply for incentives. Maruti Suzuki was not directly named earlier; instead, its subsidiary SMG, which runs the Hansalpur manufacturing unit, was included.
To be sure, the carmaker’s EVs are being manufactured at the Hansalpur facility. With the company beginning EV rollouts from the SMG plant this year, Maruti undertook an amalgamation exercise to absorb the subsidiary into the parent company.
After completion in December, Maruti has now been directly inducted into the PLI scheme, allowing it to sell EVs and directly claim incentives if localization norms are met.
“MSIL entering the EV segment certainly gives a big boost to India's EV story in terms of all aspects including the effectiveness, achievement against goals of schemes such as PLI," said Ashim Sharma, senior partner and group head at Nomura Research Institute.
The PLI-Auto scheme was approved by the Union cabinet in 2021, but disbursals began only in FY25. The scheme is designed to provide incentives to automakers and component makers for five fiscal years through FY29.
Initially, 115 companies applied for benefits under the scheme. The government later shortlisted 82 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in early 2022. Of these, companies meeting the scheme’s 50% domestic value addition criteria are eligible to claim incentives.
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