Suzuki Motor Corp. announced Tuesday that it will launch the e Sky, an electric vehicle in the kei ultracompact category, on Nov. 16. The price will start at 2.12 million yen, including tax, making it the most affordable kei EV sold in Japan.

This is the first time Suzuki will release a kei EV. On a full charge, it will have a driving range of 310 kilometers, which is believed to be the longest driving range for any kei EV from a Japanese manufacturer. It will be able to travel 11.92 kilometers per kilowatt.

With government subsidies, the effective purchase price is expected to start at about 1.55 million yen, making it more than 300,000 yen cheaper than Nissan Motor Co.'s kei EV, the Sakura. Suzuki aims to sell 1,000 units per month.

Although Suzuki held the top spot in the domestic kei car market last year with a 34% market share, the company had fallen behind its competitors in the EV segment.

----

This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.

YDN-M0000237834-1