How Maruti’s grand plan could forever change India’s EV market
harness groundbreaking technologies to address challenges, leading to improvements across the world. But every wave of innovation has its own set of challenges. This cycle guarantees a continuous stream of problems to be solved and fuels the fire for endless innovation.
A recent example is India’s largest carmaker Maruti announcing plans to launch electric air copters by 2025. That’s right – Maruti is aiming for the skies and has its eyes set on global expansion. Last week the company announced it was venturing into the development of electric air copters in collaboration with parent company Suzuki.
Named SkyDrive, the air copter is expected to be launched at the 2025 Osaka Expo in Japan. Electric air copters are bigger than drones but smaller than traditional helicopters, and capable of carrying at least three people, including the pilot. These air copters are different from regular helicopters as they are electric and weigh only 1.4 tonnes, almost half the weight of a typical helicopter.
Because they are lighter, they can take off and land on rooftops, which increases their flexibility in city settings. They essentially bridge the gap between drones and helicopters. There are several Indian companies in the electric vehicle market but none have yet announced anything related to electric air copters.
With this venture, Maruti is also taking a big step on the Make in India initiative. The company is considering local manufacturing of these air copters to reduce costs. While these will be launched in the US and Japan first, it’s only a matter of time before they are sold in India, giving Maruti a huge first-mover advantage.
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