Many Australians – notably these in regional areas – merely aren’t prepared for electrical automobiles (EVs), argues the boss of Suzuki Auto Co, the Japanese model’s distributor in Queensland and northern New South Wales.
“I simply don’t assume the Australian market needs them (EVs),” Suzuki Queensland basic supervisor Paul Dillon advised CarExpert.
“While the federal government needs all people to have them, does all people wish to have one?”
He argued EVs and emissions generally are “not a giant concern for folks in Australia, in any other case the primary promoting automotive in Australia wouldn’t be a three-ton 4×4 pickup”.
CarExpert can prevent 1000’s on a brand new automotive. Click on right here to get an excellent deal.
Regardless of this, Suzuki is introducing an EV to Australia – the eVitara, which is because of arrive within the first quarter of 2026.
Suzuki Queensland expects to supply it too, even when it cites a scarcity of enthusiasm from sellers within the Sunshine State.
“(It) definitely is the intention (to supply the eVitara). We’re nonetheless ready on remaining numbers from Japan,” he mentioned.
“On the very least we’ve obtained pilot automobiles coming, and it’s definitely our intention assuming the numbers from Japan stack up.”
Suzuki sellers could have charging services, however that’s as a result of typically Suzuki sellers are a part of a multi-franchise operation. Due to this fact, Suzuki automobiles are sometimes bought alongside automobiles from different manufacturers that do supply EVs.
Mr Dillon doesn’t anticipate sturdy demand in regional areas throughout the Sunshine State due to the lengthy distances many automobile homeowners drive.
“I don’t know when you’ve been to North Queensland, however when you stand up there no one an excessive amount of is in any respect (in EVs),” mentioned Mr Dillon.
“In case your children play sports activities and you reside in Cairns, at any form of stage, they could be taking part in a group in Townsville or Charters Towers, someplace like that.
“For his or her Saturday sport, you’ve obtained to assume Friday evening ‘Have I obtained sufficient cost to get to Townsville?’ It’s 300 and one thing kilometres – after which get again.
“’Do I must ebook to drive to Townsville, ebook lodging, keep in a single day, drive again the following day?’ So your Saturday sport then turns into a weekend.”
When requested whether or not this particular regional instance applies to prospects in cities like Brisbane, Mr Dillon mentioned: “There’s nonetheless lots of people down right here, like lots of our sellers that we discuss to, that received’t commerce an electrical automotive.”
And he says Suzuki patrons “aren’t actually early-adopter form of (patrons)”.
“We haven’t achieved direct surveys (about EV enthusiasm) or something like that, however I feel you’ll discover Suzuki prospects typically talking aren’t cutting-edge,” he mentioned.
He argued that EVs make extra sense as city runabouts.
“Should you’re going to have an electrical automotive, is a metropolis automotive a greater possibility reasonably than attempting to hope that it’s going to be anyone’s on a regular basis automotive,” he mentioned.
“Should you take away the objective of attempting to realize 1000km, when you’re solely going to make use of this automotive within the metropolis, you’d solely must have a spread of, regardless of the quantity is, 200km or one thing.
“If you may make that extra inexpensive for that function, to me that most likely is a extra wise dialogue on electrical automobiles than attempting to assume all people’s going to have an electrical automotive for each use.”
Nonetheless, Suzuki Queensland is more likely to supply an EV quickly, although a full hybrid isn’t on the desk because the distributor has dominated out providing the Vitara Hybrid that shall be launched in different states within the first quarter of 2026.
“We’re definitely not at the vanguard of (hybrid) expertise both,” he mentioned.
Suzuki launched its first mild-hybrid mannequin in Australia in 2024 with the Swiftbut it surely has by no means supplied a full hybrid on this nation regardless of such a powertrain being out there for a couple of years now in markets reminiscent of Europe.
Nonetheless, Suzuki has been slower to embrace electrification than many rivals.
“Suzuki is that form of model that they are going to check and check and check till they know folks aren’t going to have issues with their automobiles. They’re tremendous conservative in that,” mentioned Mr Dillon.
“They wish to make certain prospects have expertise once they purchase a Suzuki product. They don’t wish to deliver a product to market that’s possibly obtained some query marks about reliability.
“Suzuki’s extra inclined to go, ‘How can we make this automotive as environment friendly as attainable?’ And weight is… when you observe System 1, saving an oz right here would possibly imply a kilometre an hour down the straight or one thing like that. The much less weight you’ve obtained, the much less mass you’ve obtained to push, the much less vitality it’s essential use to push that mass.”
MORE: Australia’s new emissions rules are poorly thought out, says native automotive model boss
