India's Maruti Suzuki cuts near-term EV production amid rare earths crisis
India's top carmaker, which said on Monday it had not seen any impact yet from the supply crisis, now plans to make about 8,200 e-Vitaras between April and September, versus an original goal of 26,500, according to a company document seen by Reuters.
It cited "supply constraints" in rare earth materials that are vital in making magnets and other components across a range of hi-tech industries.
Maruti still plans to meet its output target of 67,000 EVs for the year ending March 2026 by ramping up production in subsequent months, the document said.
China's curbs on some rare earth exports have rocked the global auto industry, with companies warning of severe supply chain disruptions. While some companies in the United States, Europe and Japan are seeing supplies easing as they secure licences from Beijing, India is still waiting for China's approval amid fears of production stoppages.
Launched amid much fanfare at India's car show in January, the e-Vitara is crucial to Maruti's EV push in the country, marking its entry in a segment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government wants to grow to 30 per cent of all car sales by 2030 from about 2.5 per cent last year.
The setback could also hurt 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.
Maruti told reporters last week the rare earths issue had no "material impact" on the e-Vitara's launch timeline. Chair RC Bhargava said there was "no impact at the moment" on production, local media reported on Monday.
Maruti and Suzuki did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
Maruti is yet to open bookings for the e-Vitara, with some analysts warning it is already late to launch EVs in the world's third-largest car market where Tesla is also expected to begin sales this year.
Under its previous plan "A", Maruti was to produce 26,512 e-Vitaras between April and September – the first half of the financial year. Under the revised plan "B", it will manufacture 8,221, the document showed, indicating a two-thirds cut in its production schedule.
However, in the second half of the financial year – between October and March 2026 – Maruti plans to ramp up production to 58,728 e-Vitaras, or about 440 per day at its peak, versus a previous target of 40,437 for those six months under plan A.
Two supply chain sources confirmed Maruti's plan to scale back e-Vitara production because of rare earth magnet shortages but were not privy to the exact numbers.
The rare earths crisis comes as Maruti is already grappling to recover market share lost to Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra's feature-rich SUVs. These companies also lead India's EV sales. Maruti's share of India's passenger vehicle market is down to 41 per cent from a recent peak of about 51 per cent in March 2020.
Suzuki has trimmed its sales target for India to 2.5 million vehicles by March 2031 from 3 million previously, and scaled back its lineup of EV launches to just four, instead of the six planned before, as competition in the South Asian nation intensifies.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
2 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Modi to visit China for first time in 7 years as tensions with US rise
Narendra Modi will head to China for a summit of the multilateral Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. (AP pic) NEW DELHI : Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit China for the first time in over seven years, a government source said today, in a further sign of a diplomatic thaw with Beijing as tensions with the US rise. Modi will go to China for a summit of the multilateral Shanghai Cooperation Organisation that begins on Aug 31, the government source, with direct knowledge of the matter, told Reuters. India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His trip will come at a time when India's relationship with the US faces its most serious crisis in years after president Donald Trump imposed the highest tariffs among Asian peers on goods imported from India, and has threatened an unspecified further penalty for New Delhi's purchases of Russian oil. Modi's visit to the Chinese city of Tianjin for the summit of the SCO, a Eurasian political and security grouping that includes Russia, will be his first since June 2018. Subsequently, Sino-Indian ties deteriorated sharply after a military clash along their disputed Himalayan border in 2020. Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks on the sidelines of a BRICS summit in Russia in October that led to a thaw. The giant Asian neighbours are now slowly defusing tensions that have hampered business relations and travel between the two countries. Trump has threatened to charge an additional 10% tariff on imports from members – which include India – of the BRICS group of major emerging economies for 'aligning themselves with Anti-American policies'. Trump said today his administration would decide on the penalty for buying Russian oil after the outcome of US efforts to seek a last-minute breakthrough that would bring about a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine. Trump's top diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff is in Moscow, two days before the expiry of a deadline the president set for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or face new sanctions. Meanwhile, India's national security adviser Ajit Doval is in Russia on a scheduled visit and is expected to discuss India's purchases of Russian oil in the wake of Trump's pressure on India to stop buying Russian crude, according to another government source, who also did not want to be named. Doval is likely to address India's defence cooperation with Russia, including obtaining faster access to pending exports to India of Moscow's S400 air defence system, and a possible visit by president Vladimir Putin to India. Doval's trip will be followed by foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in the weeks to come. Export impact US and Indian officials told Reuters a mix of political misjudgement, missed signals and bitterness scuttled trade deal negotiations between the world's biggest and fifth-largest economies, whose bilateral trade is worth over US$190 billion. India expects Trump's crackdown could cost it a competitive advantage in about US$64 billion worth of goods sent to the US that account for 80% of its total exports, four separate sources told Reuters, citing an internal government assessment. However, the relatively low share of exports in India's US$4 trillion economy is expected to limit the direct impact on economic growth. Today, the Reserve Bank of India left its GDP growth forecast for the current April-March financial year unchanged at 6.5% and held rates steady despite the tariff uncertainties. India's government assessment report has assumed a 10% penalty for buying Russian oil, which would take the total US tariff to 35%, the sources said. India's trade ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The internal assessment report is the government's initial estimate and will change as the quantum of tariffs imposed by Trump becomes clear, all four sources said. India exported goods estimated at around US$81 billion in 2024 to the US.
Barnama
5 hours ago
- Barnama
US Imposes Additional 25 Per Cent Tariff on India, New Delhi Calls Move Unfair
US President Donald Trump meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House in Washington, DC, February 13, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo WASHINGTON, Aug 7 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- United States (US) President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on India in response to its continued purchase of Russian oil, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) quoted the White House. "To deal with the national emergency described in Executive Order 14066, I determine that it is necessary and appropriate to impose an additional ad valorem duty on imports of articles of India, which is directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil," the order stated. The tariffs will take effect 21 days from the date of the order. bootstrap slideshow It directs Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in coordination with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, to determine whether any other country is 'directly or indirectly' importing Russian oil. "If the Secretary of Commerce finds that a country is directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil, he, consulting with other officials, shall recommend whether and to what extent I should take action as to that country, including whether I should impose an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 25 per cent on imports of articles of that country," it said. Trump said Tuesday the US would 'make that determination' about sanctions on countries purchasing Russian oil after talks between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian officials in Moscow. He accused New Delhi of profiting from the resale of Russian oil. In response to the executive order, India described the move as 'extremely unfortunate,' noting that several other countries were taking similar actions in their own national interest. The actions are 'unfair, unjustified and unreasonable,' the Foreign Ministry said, adding that New Delhi would take 'all actions necessary' to protect its national interests.
Malay Mail
a day ago
- Malay Mail
Zoho Launches Zoho Books Singapore edition
Helping businesses ensure e-invoicing compliance and improved accuracy in their GST filing Your business at a glance with the Dashboard in the Singapore edition of Zoho Books Zoho Inventory, a comprehensive solution to manage inventory, track stock levels, and generate GST and e-invoicing compliant invoices, ensuring seamless integration with shipping carriers and aggregators like Singapore Post, and Easyship for efficient order fulfilment. The solution offers advanced warehouse management capabilities and provides faster order processing. Businesses can leverage location tracking and labelling, stock counting, stock out alerts, and role-based access to the warehouse operations for better inventory control. Zoho Billing is a versatile billing platform, offering one-time billing, subscription management, with GST and e-invoicing compliance, along with AR automation capabilities. The solution offers project billing, Quote-to-Cash (Q2C) and revenue reporting functionalities. Additionally, Zoho Billing offers subscription management capabilities like trial management, prorated billing, usage billing, customer lifecycle management, and retention. Zoho Invoice is a free invoicing solution built for small businesses that helps manage receivables. Businesses can send quotes and create customised, GST compliant invoices. Zoho Expense, end-to-end travel and expense (T&E) management software, that provides businesses with capabilities to manage all stages of employee travel, and automate expense reporting. With self-booking capabilities, employees can book flights, hotels, taxis, and trains according to company policy, reducing administration. Per diem rates and rules can be auto-imported, compliant with government regulations, automating business travel allowances. Zoho Commerce, a complete e-commerce platform that helps businesses create and manage online stores, accept orders, send GST-compliant invoices, process payments, manage shipping and track inventory. With Zoho Commerce, businesses can easily set up an online presence without needing any coding expertise. Zoho Practice is built for accounting professionals, helping them deliver client services efficiently. Workpapers simplifies audit and compliance workflows by automatically fetching client financial statements from Zoho Books, enabling easy comparison, adjustments, document management, and collaboration for seamless review and approval. The self-service portal enables accountants to collaborate with clients that use third-party services, facilitating document requests, digital signatures, and communication. SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 6 August 2025 - Zoho Corporation, a global technology company, today launched the Singapore edition of Zoho Books , cloud-based accounting software to help businesses simplify GST and e-invoicing compliance. This launch includes the Singapore edition of other solutions in Zoho's finance and operations suite of applications, offering businesses a better way to manage their financial and operational processes while staying compliant with the country's regulations."The launch of the Singapore edition of Zoho Books represents a significant step forward in enabling businesses and accountants to embrace digital transformation in financial compliance. With built-in AI capabilities and automation, Zoho Books simplifies GST calculations, ensures adherence to IRAS regulations, and helps mitigate compliance risks. As part of our 16+ country-specific editions, this launch empowers organisations to improve accuracy, reduce manual effort, and navigate an increasingly complex regulatory environment," says Gibu Mathew, VP and GM, Zoho APACAccording to a recent survey by Zoho, a majority of businesses in Singapore report managing GST compliance efficiently, with 82% finding IRAS guidance easy to follow. However, challenges remain, 32% of businesses still file manually through the IRAS portal, and 71% spend up to five days preparing GST returns. The most common difficulties cited were: staying updated with regulatory changes, accurately calculating input/output tax, and ensuring timely insights point to a growing need for automation in tax compliance. Zoho Books addresses this by providing real-time updates on GST regulations, automating tax calculations, and generating IRAS-ready F5 returns. By reducing manual processes, the solution helps businesses improve accuracy, save time, and minimise compliance risks. This is particularly relevant in light of recent enforcement trends. In FY23/24, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) recovered $162 million , including penalties, through over 2,500 audits across industries. A significant portion of these penalties stemmed from compliance lapses, highlighting the importance of adopting reliable, audit-ready systems like Zoho Books offers e-invoicing compliance which provides B2B businesses the ability to send invoices electronically directly into their accounting systems according to the PEPPOL standards. Zoho Books will soon offer integration with InvoiceNow to push invoices to the IRAS. With this accounting solution, businesses can also manage their finance end-to-end, perform core accounting functions, track stocks, reconcile bank accounts, and manage projects. The software offers PayNow payment method to streamline payment collections. With AI-driven receipt capture, businesses can automatically record expenses and bills within the application. Zoho Books also comes with other advanced capabilities like audit trail, order management, budgeting and workflow automation. With the application's built-in Zoho Analytics integration, businesses can leverage Zia, Zoho's AI-based analytics assistant to track financial trends with smart visualizations, perform predictive analysis and make data-driven Singapore edition of other solutions in Zoho's finance and operations suite offers the following capabilities:Zoho's finance suite of applications is built on the same platform, enabling instant interoperability and contextual data flow between applications, resulting in improved data accuracy and saved productive hours in manually re-entering data. Bringing 15+ years of experience and innovation, the finance and operations suite provides 16 country-specific editions tailored for local tax and compliance needs, including Singapore, UK, India, and the UAE. The platform offers advanced capabilities, using which businesses can easily customize, scale, and extend the applications according to their requirements. This significantly reduces the need to invest in IT resources and quickly go to market with any products are available for immediate use. The pricing of Zoho Books starts at S$18 per month, per organization. The application also offers a free more details on pricing, please visit the following pages for each product: Zoho Commerce , and Zoho Practice .Hashtag: #zoho #zohobooks #singapore The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Zoho Corporation With 55+ apps in nearly every major business category, Zoho Corporation is one of the world's most prolific technology companies. Zoho is privately held and profitable with more than 18,000 employees globally with headquarters in Austin, Texas and international headquarters in Chennai, India. Zoho APAC HQ is located in Singapore. For more information, please visit: Zoho respects user privacy and does not have an ad-revenue model in any part of its business, including its free products. The company owns and operates its data centers, ensuring complete oversight of customer data, privacy, and security. More than 120 million users around the world, across hundreds of thousands of companies, rely on Zoho everyday to run their businesses, including Zoho itself. For more information, please visit:
