Maruti Suzuki India is said to have geared up to supply an unknown no. of Swift hybrid hatchbacks to the government of India. This supply is a part of pilot project but the quantity of hatchbacks which are going to be supplied is still not disclosed. This new Swift hybrid will be called as Swift Range Extender which has been displayed by the company at recently held 12th Auto Expo.
Due to the upcoming elections, the dates of supply couldn’t be cleared yet and expected to be finalized by the next financial year means in 2015. As per the source closed to this project, “While the homologation process of the hybrid Swift is nearly completed, the team is expecting ARAI certification anytime now.
This new Maruti Suzuki Swift Range Extender will be powered by a 658cc, 3-cylinder petrol engine. Being a hybrid model, it is also expected to be equipped with a front-axle mounted 55kW electric motor along with a 5kWh lithium ion battery. This battery is expected to be charged fully in about 90 minutes and responsible to give a range of 25.5 km. Further, the weight of hybrid hatchback is around 130kg more than the petrol model and it is expected to offer a combined fuel economy of around 48.2 km/l (as per the Maruti’s internal tests) including the 25.5 km distance covered by the completely charged battery.
Also, as per the reports received till now, the model will be developed in India while the battery, electric motor and other components will be imported from Japan possibly. The step is being taken for the good sake of environment as governments around the world seems active in promoting the use of such type of vehicles to reduce pollution from the atmosphere.
