Maruti Suzuki launched the Swift in its fourth generational avatar this year, featuring a new three-cylinder engine, refreshed styling, and an updated set of features. While the new Swift has been launched with the options for petrol and CNG variants in India, there hasn’t been a hybrid powertrain on offer yet, which is seen in certain global markets.
Maruti was seen testing a hybrid version of the new Maruti Suzuki Swift in India a few weeks ago, and there were multiple media reports suggesting that a hybrid version might also be launched in India. However, we believe that the same might not be here anytime soon, and here are the top reasons as to why we think so.
MSIL already has multiple CNG variants of the Swift on sale in India, and that might be a key reason for them not being too enthusiastic about bringing in hybrid variants. Plus, the adoption of CNG vehicles is much more than that of hybrid vehicles in India, currently.
The upcoming Maruti Swift hybrid, if launched, shall naturally be priced higher than the current powertrains on sale, which might make its price overlap with decent variants of popular entry-level SUVs in India like the Kia Sonet, Tata Nexon, and Mahindra XUV 3XO. With the consumers shifting towards larger cars, particularly SUVs, this situation won’t be very pleasant for the Swift hybrid in terms of sales.
While hybrids do boast of superior fuel efficiency when compared to their pure-ICE counterparts, electric cars are still cheaper to run than hybrids, and cars such as the Tata Tiago EV, Tata Punch EV, and the MG Comet EV are priced in a range that we expect the Swift hybrid to be priced around, making the case of the EVs stronger in terms of affordability.
Lastly, there hasn’t been any communication from MSIL regarding any plans to launch the new Maruti Suzuki Swift hybrid in India as of date. Neither have been any reports of unofficial communication from any of the employees at the company. We just have spy shots of the car at the moment that indicate at a prospective launch, nothing more than that.