With a fleet of SUVs, Maruti Suzuki is reclaiming the nation’s roads. Although losing market share to the “original” SUV big boys Mahindra and Mahindra and Tata Motors over the previous three years, India’s largest automaker by unit sales has recently capitalised on rising consumer demand for this vehicle body type. And leading that effort are the mint-fresh Vitara and Brezza.
Maruti Suzuki has started applying more pressure to Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Hyundai in the quickly expanding sports utility vehicle market, fueled by demand for the recently released Brezza and Vitara models.
Maruti Suzuki increased from 8.8% in February 2022 to 17.4% last month, doubling its market share in the category. Competitors Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors did increase category volumes during the review period, but their market shares fell by 2.3% and 0.7%, respectively.
After Maruti Suzuki, the Korean car giant Hyundai has fallen to fourth place and had a 3.3% decline in market share in February.
The company is convinced that its two soon-to-be-released new models, the Fronx and Jimny, would enable it to take the top spot in the SUV market during the ensuing fiscal year.
Overall, it anticipates increasing its market share from roughly 41% in FY23 to 45% in FY24.
According to Shashank Srivastava, who is the senior executive director of marketing and sales at Maruti Suzuki, the company currently holds a market share of over 65% in the non-SUV segment of the Indian PV market.
They will need to expand their SUV footprint to reach their medium-term goal of a 50% market share. They had previously been limited by a lack of SUV models, but with the Grand Vitara and the recently unveiled Fronx and Jimny, they should see a significant increase in volume in the upcoming fiscal year.
Currently, 11.9% of Maruti’s sales are SUVs. The Brezza and Grand Vitara are the subject of pending orders for the company totaling over 100,000 units. An additional 35,000 reservations have been made for the Jimny and the Fronx, whose pricing has not yet been released.
On the local market over the first ten months of the fiscal year, SUV sales increased by 37.8%. As a result, 43% of all passenger car sales in the Indian market are currently made up of SUVs. The aim to dominate the SUV industry was set by our MD, and that has since been the rallying cry for our marketing and sales team, according to Srivastava.
Due to a lack of volume in the SUV class, the company has seen its share of domestic passenger car sales fall below the halfway point. To make up for this, the company has been working extra hard.
About Maruti Suzuki
The largest passenger car manufacturer in India, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), which was formerly known as Maruti Udyog Limited and is a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan, controls more than 50% of the domestic auto market.
The Suzuki Motor Corporation, a large Japanese vehicle and motorcycle manufacturer, owns this business. Maruti was the first automobile company to adopt the Japanese concept of “smaller, fewer, lighter, shorter and neater” to India.
The Maruti 1000, which Maruti Suzuki unveiled in 1989, was the first modern sedan to be offered in India. The Maruti 800 was the most popular automobile in India up until 2004.
This honour was bestowed upon the Maruti Alto in 2004. Maruti Suzuki became the first firm to sell 10 million vehicles in India in February 2012. The Swift Dzire, which had been produced for less than three years, reached the 15 millionth vehicle milestone in May 2015.
