Maruti Suzuki working on new SUVs across wide price range

Despite being late to introduce a contender in the expanding compact SUV segment in India, Maruti Suzuki has managed to become the segment leader with the Vitara Brezza. The car is clocking around 10,000 unit sales every month. The automaker is also acknowledging the strong demand for SUVs in various price brackets. As a result, the company is now said to have started working on multiple new SUVs that will be launched over the next few years.

One of these upcoming products is expected to compete against mid-size SUVs like the Tata Hexa and the Mahindra XUV500. It is expected to be based on Suzuki's fifth-generation C platform. While the automaker hasn't made an official announcement, reports suggest that this new mid-size SUV will go into production in 2020.

Maruti is also said to be studying and analyzing the feasibility of developing a small SUV, which will be placed a segment lower than the Vitara Brezza. The company's managing director - Kenichi Ayukawa, has acknowledged the possibility of such a product, but has suggested that the automaker is yet to take an official call in this regard.

Maruti Suzuki's increased interest in the UV market comes at a time when Indian customers are showing an inclination towards SUVs as compared to hatchbacks and sedans. For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, sales of utility vehicles grew by 30%, hugely outpacing the passenger car growth rate of 4%.

With the Vitara Brezza, Maruti is leading the entry-level UV segment with a market share of 38%. However, it doesn't have any product in the higher range of the SUV segment. This is the void that the automaker is now aiming to fill. The company is aiming to increase its annual sales to 2 million units by 2020. It is hoping to grab a share of the growing SUV market to achieve this target.

Source: ET Auto