Maruti Suzuki India shares dip on delay in new variant e-Vitara launch

Maruti Suzuki India share price dropped more than 1% during Wednesday's trading session, as the company has reduced its short-term production goals for its first electric vehicle, the e-Vitara, by two-thirds due to shortages of rare earth materials, according to a report. This situation reflects the ongoing disruptions faced by the automotive industry as a result of China's export restrictions.

India's leading automobile manufacturer, which reported on Monday that it hadn't experienced any effects from the supply crisis thus far, is now aiming to produce approximately 8,200 e-Vitaras from April to September, compared to its initial target of 26,500, as per a company document reviewed by Reuters.

The company pointed to "supply constraints" in rare earth materials essential for the production of magnets and other components across various high-tech sectors.

Maruti remains committed to achieving its output goal of 67,000 electric vehicles for the fiscal year ending March 2026 by increasing production in the coming months, the document indicated.

Maruti informed reporters last week that the issue concerning rare earths had no significant effect on the launch schedule of the e-Vitara. Chair RC Bhargava mentioned that there was "no impact at the moment" on production, according to local media reports on Monday.

As reported by Reuters, Maruti and Suzuki did not reply to inquiries for comments on Tuesday. Maruti has yet to start accepting bookings for the e-Vitara, with some analysts cautioning that the company is already behind in launching EVs in the world's third-largest car market, where Tesla is also anticipated to commence sales this year.

In its earlier plan "A," Maruti aimed to manufacture 26,512 e-Vitaras between April and September - the first half of the fiscal year. Under the revised plan "B," it now intends to produce 8,221, as indicated in the document, reflecting a reduction of two-thirds in its production schedule.

As reported by Reuters, Maruti intends to increase e-Vitara production in the second half of the financial year - from October to March 2026 - to 58,728 units, translating to roughly 440 per day at its peak, compared to an earlier target of 40,437 for those six months under plan A.

Two sources from the supply chain verified Maruti's plans to reduce e-Vitara production due to shortages of rare earth magnets but did not have access to the specific figures.

Maruti Suzuki India share price today

Maruti Suzuki India share price today opened at an intraday low of ₹12,397.85 apiece, the stock touched an intraday high of ₹12,555. According to Rajesh Bhosale, Equity Technical and Derivative Analyst at Angel One, this rate sensitive stock had a strong run last week in line with positive development on the monetary policy, however, last two sessions have been subdued.

“For now we see a range for the stock where ₹12,200 is a strong support on the flip side once ₹12,700 is taken out, one can expect positive momentum to continue,” said Bhosale.

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