Suzuki Motor Corp will supply its first battery electric SUV to Toyota Motor Corp, expanding the two automakers’ alliance into green vehicles.

Maruti Suzuki, Suzuki’s Indian arm, plans to begin production of the model in early 2025 at its Gujarat facility, the companies announced on Wednesday.

The platform for the EV was developed jointly by Suzuki, Toyota and Daihatsu, a subsidiary of Toyota.

“We would like to learn from each other’s strengths, compete, and further joint efforts based on a multi-pathway approach,” Toyota president Koji Sato said.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki climbed about 4 per cent to trade near the session’s high after the announcement. Suzuki has around 58 per cent stake in Maruti Suzuki.

The EV, which will be a sport utility vehicle, will have a 60-kilowatt-hour battery pack with a range of 500 kilometres (311 miles). A concept version of the EV was showcased in India’s auto show last year.

The new development marks the first BEV in the relationship between the two companies.

The new model will be one of 10 battery-powered vehicles the world’s biggest automaker has said it will launch by 2026, a Toyota spokesperson said. There are no plans to produce the EV anywhere else besides the Gujarat plant.

Toyota Motor Corporation and Suzuki Motor Corporation had signed a memorandum of understanding for a business alliance in 2017 for the sharing of products and manufacturing facilities.

Under the partnership, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) sold Suzuki’s premium hatchback Baleno as Glanza and compact SUV Brezza as Urban Cruiser in India. Urban Cruiser was later discontinued.

In 2022, the two Japanese firms deepened their collaboration in the fields of development and production in India.

Toyota said earlier on Wednesday it sold just over 108,000 battery-powered electric vehicles worldwide during the first nine months of the year, accounting for 1.5 per cent of its global sales, including that of its luxury Lexus brand, over that period.

“Suzuki will supply our first BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) to Toyota globally. I am grateful that the collaboration between the two companies has further deepened in this way,” Suzuki president Toshihiro Suzuki said.

With inputs from Reuters & PTI