Suzuki, a well-known Japanese car maker, has been selling cars in Australia since the 1970s, with smaller petrol-powered hatchbacks, like the popular Swift, and SUVs such as the Vitara.
Now, the brand has had its first electric model approved for sale in the Australian market, and it will come in three key variants. This model is likely to be called the e Vitara, although the latest approval documents do not reveal its name in our local market.
Firstly, there are the 2WD variants, which are powered by a front-mounted electric motor with peak power outputs of 106 kW and 128 kW.
Then there is an AWD variant with an additional 48 kW motor at the rear, bringing the combined power to 176 kW.
According to the approval documentation, this SUV offering, which comes at 4.28 metres and has a tare weight that ranges 1,700 kg and 1,900 kg, making it similar to other smaller electric SUVs.
On the battery front, the approval doesn’t specifically mention the battery capacities, but looking at the UK specifications, it’s likely to be a 49 kWh Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LFP) pack in the entry level 2WD model.
On the more powerful 2WD variant with 128 kW of power and the AWD variant, the battery pack is bumped up to 61 kWh.
WLTP on the models ranges between 344 km and 426 km, which is reasonable in the small electric SUV segment.
This battery can be fast charged at speeds of up to 70 kW. With this charging speed, the e Vitara can be fast-charged from 10-80% in 45 minutes, according to specs found in the UK market.
That’s certainly on the lower end when compared to similar EVs on the market, with most aiming for the same charge to happen in around 30 minutes.
The powertrain can also help the car get from 0-100 km/h between 7.4 and 9.6 seconds, depending on the variant.
Pricing of the Suzuki e Vitara is unknown for the local market but over in the UK, it starts at £26,249, undercutting the more expensive BYD Atto 3 which starts at £37,705.
With that in mind, we can expect the pricing of the e Vitara to start around the $40,000 mark in Australia, when it’s expected to land in 2026.
The latest approval comes in the same week as Mazda, another Japanese brand, unveiled its upcoming electric sedan, slated for mid-2026.
Detailed specs and official pricing of Suzuki’s first local EV model will be announced closer to the vehicle’s launch in the coming months.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.