Quick Highlights:Maruti Suzuki says it is not chasing EV leadership and is focusing on ecosystem readiness.Over 2,000 public chargers and 1,500 EV-ready workshops prepared ahead of launch.e-Vitara certified with 543 km range and 5-star BNCAP rating.Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) model to be offered at launch.Maruti Suzuki’s long-awaited entry into India’s electric vehicle space continues to be defined by caution rather than speed. Even after multiple public showcases of the e-Vitara, the company remains tight-lipped about its pricing strategy, raising questions about what is causing the delay. At a recent roundtable, Partho Banerjee, senior executive director for Marketing and Sales, addressed these concerns head-on, offering a clear explanation for the company’s measured pace and reluctance to join the electric race prematurely.From the outset, Banerjee made it clear that Maruti Suzuki is not positioning itself to win the EV numbers game. He emphasized that leadership claims matter far less to the company than ensuring confidence among new EV buyers. According to him, entering the segment without the right support infrastructure would do more harm than good, both for customers and for Maruti’s long-term EV ambitions. This stance marks a strategic contrast to several competitors that have aggressively launched EVs to capture early market share.Banerjee highlighted that the company has been working steadily behind the scenes, laying down the groundwork required for a large-scale EV rollout. Instead of rushing a launch to capitalize on the current EV buzz, Maruti is ensuring that every part of the ownership cycle is ready to support customers. He added that the company wants its first electric SUV to arrive with a complete and dependable ecosystem, not just a competitive spec sheet.One of the pillars of this ecosystem is charging infrastructure. Maruti Suzuki has established more than 2,000 public charging points across 1,100 cities, developed in collaboration with 13 charging point operators and aggregators. This network is accessible through a unified interface, offering EV owners the ability to locate chargers, initiate charging sessions, and pay through multiple digital methods. The company has also been leveraging partnerships to integrate third-party public chargers into a single system to simplify the overall charging experience.Maruti’s long-term goal is even more ambitious. The company aims to enable access to over 100,000 public charge points by 2030. This scaling strategy reflects a clear understanding of the Indian EV market’s biggest bottleneck: uneven and inadequate charging availability. By prioritizing infrastructure before product rollout, Maruti is taking a different path from its rivals, betting that customer confidence will rise only when charging becomes as seamless as refueling.Alongside infrastructure, service preparedness is another area where Maruti has invested heavily. As Banerjee pointed out, the brand has already readied more than 1,500 workshops across 1,100 cities and trained nearly 1.5 lakh personnel to support electric vehicles. This widespread presence is important because EV maintenance requires specialized skills, safety protocols, and diagnostic tools significantly different from conventional petrol and diesel vehicles. Maruti’s vast service network, which has long been one of its biggest strengths, is being retooled to ensure EV customers are not left underserved.The backbone of Maruti’s EV ecosystem is the “e for me” app, designed to centralize various EV-related functions. Users will be able to locate chargers, pay digitally, manage home charging units, use tap-and-charge features at dealerships and synchronize charging details with the vehicle’s infotainment system. This digital layer is intended to simplify EV ownership, removing transactional friction and making electric mobility more approachable for first-time buyers.As for the e-Vitara itself, the SUV has already earned a 5-star BNCAP safety rating, reinforcing Maruti’s commitment to safety in its first electric offering. The company initially projected a 500 km range target, but the production-ready model has received an ARAI-certified range of 543 km, positioning it strongly in the electric SUV segment. Additionally, Maruti will offer a Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) model to customers who prefer lower upfront costs by separating battery ownership from vehicle ownership, though full details will be announced closer to launch.Banerjee summed up Maruti’s approach by acknowledging that the company may have joined the EV race later than others, but it intends to make its arrival felt. As he put it, “We might be late, but when we come, we will come with a roar.” This confidence reflects Maruti’s belief that a strong ecosystem, not rapid rollout, will determine success in India’s evolving electric mobility landscape.Ultimately, whether the roar resonates will depend on how competitively the e-Vitara is priced once Maruti finally reveals the numbers. With rivals already offering feature-packed electric SUVs at aggressive price points, Maruti’s delay brings risks as well as opportunities. The brand’s emphasis on reliability, ecosystem and customer assurance could be decisive, but the pricing strategy will be the final indicator of how committed the company is to reshaping its identity in India’s electric future.