“Introducing subsegments in the SUV space for the Arena channel is the direction we are looking at. Most SUVs introduced since last year have been through Nexa,” said Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki India.
The reason for pitching contemporary SUVs at Nexa was to showcase newer technologies through this premium channel. Srivastava was speaking to reporters at a press meet in Delhi on September 29.
According to him, consumers were increasingly opting for SUVs not only for their higher driving stance and commanding road presence but also owing to the fact that entry level SUVs are priced nearly at par with smaller premium hatchbacks.
'People’s mindsets suggest that with near similar sums of money, they can get a bigger and better vehicle,' he added. Maruti is also confident that adding SUVs to the Arena channel will not affect their premium image given that products like Brezza are already part of this network abd doing well.
Increasing Market Share
Since early FY23, Maruti has been upgrading its SUV/MPV range with the revamped Ertiga, XL6 and Brezza while also launching newer models like Grand Vitara, Jimny, Fronx and Invicto.
Srivastava had indicated earlier that the company need to increase its market share in SUVs to reach its overall target of 50% in the market. SUV sales grew from 12% in FY22 to 25% in FY23 while coming down to 23% between April and August. Srivastava said the ultimate goal was 35% market share in SUVs.
“In the non-SUV space, Maruti has a leading market share of 65% but 35% in SUVs is critical to exceed 50% in overall market share,” he added.
The company is looking at selling around five lakh vehicles in the current festive period of which around 1.8 lakh units will be SUVs, said Srivastava.
While plans are underway to introduce more products in the SUV body form, Maruti believes it is as important to grow the present range of hatchbacks and the like.
Srivastava said the company saw SUVs reaching 54% of the market in the next three years before stabilising or even falling.
For instance, the Baleno was receiving around 830 bookings per day but with the Fronx, the bookings for the given price range (×where both models sit) have increased to over 1,300 a day.
Grand Vitara’s Report Card
While Brezza is the largest volume pillar in Maruti's SUV space, it is the Grand Vitara that has given the real momentum.
Launched in September 2022, the compact SUV is the fastest to cross the one lakh sales mark in the compact SUV space, said Srivastava.
Grand Vitara accounts for about 20% of Nexa's overall sales and has been instrumental in cementing Maruti's image in the premium market. Prior to this, it had Ertiga and XL6 in the INR 10-20 lakh bracket but Grand Vitara helped the company become the top player in this price segment.
The compact SUV had many segment first features including a strong hybrid powertrain and Suzuki’s all-grip all-wheel drive system.
While ‘all-grip’ hasn’t played well accounting for only 2% of total sales, it is the hybrid technology that has taken the market by storm, said Srivastava. Around 23% of total sales are for the strong hybrid models while CNG takes up about 13% with the mild hybrid variant accounting for the balance.
'We are now looking at ways to increase sales of the all-grip variants in the coming months,' signed off Srivastava.
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