Maruti Suzuki's first compact SUV Vitara Brezza has become one of the most successful vehicles in India in a short span of time. Launched in March this year, Vitara Brezza has raked over 1.72 lakh bookings within eight months. Monthly sales of the compact SUV averages at 10,000 units and it is the best selling SUV in the country at present. Buoyed by the positive response, Maruti Suzuki plans to add bigger SUVs in its India line-up.
"Today, we cover the compact SUVs, but we will also move to higher SUVs. It will happen in the near future," RC Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki, was quoted as saying by ET Auto. However, he remained tight-lipped about the future SUV model.
Premium vehicles are not a traditional stronghold of Maruti Suzuki. In previous attempts to break the badge of budget carmaker, Maruti Suzuki had launched Kizashi sedan and Grand Vitara SUV, both priced around Rs 15 lakh. The sales of both vehicles never took off and the company eventually pulled the plug at both the models. After a short hiatus, Ciaz sedan was launched as a premium offering and its healthy sales increased confidence of Maruti Suzuki to once again look in to bigger models.
There is no clear picture about the new SUV in consideration. Many reports in the past months suggested that Maruti Suzuki is considering the launch of the new Vitara in India. The fourth generation of Suzuki Vitara debuted last year globally. The new Vitara is powered by a 1.6-litre DDiS diesel engine that develops 118bhp and 320Nm of torque mated to six-speed manual transmission. Suzuki's AllGrip AWD system will be on offer and it is expected to be priced from Rs 16 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.
The other possibility is Maruti Suzuki developing a new SUV just like Vitara Brezza. The compact SUV has been conceptualised, designed and developed in India using a Suzuki global platform and engine. The project was headed by CV Raman, Executive Director R&D, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL).
