Maruti to provide Swift hybrid to Indian Govt

Maruti Suzuki, the manufacturer that accounts for close to 50% of the cars in the Indian auto segment is now planning to supply plug-in hybrid version of Swift to Indian Government. Shown at the 2014 Auto Expo, the Swift Range Extender in-houses hybrid engine-small petrol engine coupled to an electric motor.

Under the hood, power development is done by the 658cc, 3-cylinder engine mated to 74 hp electric motor. The electric motor sources its power from the 5 kWh lithium-ion battery. Moreover, the ARAI results are yet to come but the company's test result showed that Swift hybrid is capable of delivering an economy of 48.2kmpl with an all-electric range of 25.5kms. The battery takes 1.5 hours to charge from zero to full.

In the Auto Expo, another hybrid vehicle that gathered much appreciation was the Mahindra's XUV 500-world's first diesel hybrid SUV. However, its a waiting game for the SUV to hit Indian showrooms.