One automaker that’s absent from the ongoing electric-vehicle fistfight is Suzuki. While it has created a few design studies, none of them have evolved into models fit for serial production. But that has just changed in Milan, Italy, where the Japanese automaker recently unveiled the e Vitara.

This is the evolution of the eVX concept that first appeared early in 2023. It makes use of Suzuki’s first EV-specific platform called Heartect-e, which has no underfloor bracing to maximize space for the battery. Speaking of the battery, it is a lithium iron-phosphate unit which is said to be longer-lasting than other battery types.

The base two-wheel-drive version has a respectable 142hp and 189Nm going to the front axle. But the four-wheel-drive model has another motor at the rear, and the numbers are bumped up to 181hp and 300Nm. Suzuki guarantees that the e Vitara has plenty of space as the motor and the inverter are combined into a single assembly.

Sales of the e Vitara are expected to commence next year in Europe, Japan, and India. It is highly likely that this vehicle will eventually supplant the outgoing Vitara that continues to be sold in limited numbers in select markets.