SUVs had caused Maruti Suzuki, which traditionally sold one of every two vehicles on Indian roads, to lose market share, which is heavily towards these SUVs. A revamped portfolio of SUVs has already logged 100,000 bookings so far, just weeks after unveiling two models, giving the Japanese automaker the confidence it needs to win lottery volumes in a market where prices - or rates - loans, have only affected demand so far.
The just launched Brezza, and yet-to-be-launched Grand Vitara have boosted, Maruti’s booking charts. Shashank Srivastava, CEO of Maruti Suzuki, told that based on global car buying trends, SUVs should account for half of the passenger car market in India.
"There is a clear need to strengthen our SUV portfolio, and we are doing so. We have received very good responses for both the Brezza and the Grand Vitara. There are many customer inquiries about the powerful hybrid technology," said Srivastava. it comes in a variant with technology.
The Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, among other options, will come with powerful hybrid technology from Toyota.
In total, the company has received 75,000 bookings for the Maruti Brezza 2022 and an additional 26,000 reservations for the Grand Vitara, which goes on sale next month.
The entry and mid SUVs together account for nearly 40% of all passenger vehicles sold in the domestic market. Srivastava explained that while the company's market share in passenger cars rose to an all-time high of 67%, the lack of product interventions in the SUV segment reduced the overall market share to 44% in the last financial year.
As many as 652,000 entry-level SUVs and 520,000 units of midsize SUVs were sold in the domestic market in the last fiscal year. "We expect the SUV segment to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9% to 10% in the next 3 to 5 years. It is a rallying cry for us to strengthen our position in this segment," he said.
The company has lined up a range of SUVs priced up to Rs 20 lakh, people familiar with the plans said.
Today, South Korean automaker Hyundai is the leader in the SUV segment in India. It recorded sales of nearly a quarter of a million SUVs and a 22% market share in the last fiscal year.
Strong demand for the Tata Punch compact SUV has increased
Tata Motors SUV sales, now converging on a monthly basis with Hyundai Motor India. Tata Motors sold 205,000 SUVs for an 18% market share in FY22. Mahindra & Mahindra owned 14% (excluding Bolero) in the same period. Maruti Suzuki, with the only Brezza model, had its share of around 12%.
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