We first got a glimpse of the 2023 Suzuki Ertiga Hybrid at last year’s Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS). At that time, no clear information was given as to whether a hybrid option for the brand’s 7-seater will make its way to the country, but with a teaser that was posted yesterday, things point towards what looks like a definitive yes.
The 2023 Suzuki Ertiga Hybrid may very well be coming sooner than later
Photo: Suzuki
7-seater MPVs have quickly become sales-grabbers in the PH. Almost every brand in the country has its own model, but none has released a greener or more economical option such as a hybrid. That is until we stumbled upon the lone Suzuki teaser photo that was posted on its official Facebook page.
The Ertiga Hybrid is already available in Indonesia, which will most likely be where Suzuki will source the units bound for PH. It features Suzuki’s Smart Hybrid Technology that still makes use of the very familiar K15B engine, but this time, paired with a lithium-ion battery and an integrated starter generator. The generator captures and stores electrical energy in the vehicle’s battery. The energy then takes care of the required electrical load when the idle auto-start-stop system kicks in. The battery lithium-ion battery, on the other hand, recharges via a regenerative braking system.
Yes, it’s a mild hybrid.
So as of now, the questions “if” and “when” have been answered. At this point, it’s pretty hard to miss the part that the silhouette in the teaser image is in the exact shape of the Ertiga, so we’re putting all our coin into the Ertiga Hybrid being launched about a week from now. It looks like Suzuki wants to shake things up so early in the new year, and what better way to do it than with a hybrid?
