At the forthcoming Auto expo in January, Maruti Suzuki, which will showcase an astounding range of 17 vehicles, will display concepts for a hybrid on its SX4 sedan as well as an electric multi- purpose van - thereby reinforcing the government's initiatives for the development of 'green' technologies in the auto sector.

Via its National Hybrid Propulsion Programme (NHPP), the government endeavors to build up a fleet of clean fuel vehicles for the October 2010 Commonwealth Games. For the initiative, the government has aligned with some leading automakers to provide such 'green' vehicles for ferrying the participants. To propel the NHPP, the government has decided to bear half the cost of development of the vehicles.

With Maruki Suzuki being a part of the public-private clean fuel initiative, the company is using its domestic R&D team to develop the requisite vehicles. However, a large part of the development process depends on access to 'green' technology, and sourcing of different crucial parts that are expensive and difficult to obtain in India.

Nonetheless, Maruti, marking its first-ever individual attempt towards developing hybrids and electric vehicles, intends delivering ten vehicles for the Commonwealth Games.

Some of the other notable participants in the NHPP, other than academians and research professionals, are well-known automakers like Tata Motors, M&M, Eicher Motors, Ashok Leyland, TVS, and Bajaj Auto.