Maruti Suzuki might have been late to the party of compact and midsize SUVs. However, it has managed to secure a market share of over 20 per cent in the SUV category with its big-ticket launches, like Brezza, Grand Vitara, Fronx and Jimny. Keeping its primary goal of securing over 50 per cent share in the overall Indian car market, Maruti Suzuki is now in the works of coming up with two more all-new SUVs – a sub-compact SUV below Fronx and Brezza and a three-row SUV above Grand Vitara.
The two new SUVs are under work by Maruti Suzuki and are supposed to hit the Indian car market in the next two to three years according to ACI. The first SUV to arrive among the two is the three-row SUV, which is currently codenamed Y17. Based on the Grand Vitara, this will be a three-row SUV with a longer wheelbase, significant tweaks inside-out and a petrol-hybrid powertrain.
This new Maruti Suzuki three-row SUV will be positioned above the Grand Vitara and will be manufactured at the brand’s upcoming manufacturing facility in Kharkhoda. The three-row Grand Vitara-based SUV will be taking on similarly priced three-row SUVs like Hyundai Alcazar, MG Hector Plus and lower and mid variants of Tata Safari and Mahindra SUV700.
On the other hand, the sub-compact from Maruti Suzuki has been codenamed Y43 and is in its initial stages of development. It is reported that this new sub-compact SUV will be priced similarly to the other Maruti Suzuki hatchbacks like Swift and Baleno but will get a high ground clearance and rugged SUV-like styling bits. In all likelihood, this new sub-compact SUV, which will directly compete with Tata Punch and Hyundai Exter, will be launched by 2025-2026 and replace the Ignis, which has been too long in the tooth now.
New cars from Maruti Suzuki
With these two new SUVs in its plans, Maruti Suzuki is eyeing an additional 2.5 lakh units per annum over its current volumes. The recent Maruti Suzuki SUVs like Brezza, Grand Vitara and Fronx have become volume sellers for the brand, while the Jimny has managed to rake in the driving enthusiast brigade too with its unique off-roader appeal. Alongside these two new SUVs, Maruti Suzuki has the production-spec version of the eVX all-electric SUV in its cards, which is all set to arrive before the festive season this year.
Maruti Suzuki had a great year with the launches of Fronx, Jimny, and Invicto, and now, they’re all set for 2024 with some exciting new offerings. The big highlight in 2024 will be the brand-new fourth-gen Swift, which has already made its debut abroad. This new Swift sports a more stylish and sharp look compared to the current one in India, with sleek angular headlamps and tail lamps, giving it a fresh vibe.
After the new Swift, Maruti Suzuki plans to roll out the sedan version, the Dzire, in the first half of 2023. This new Dzire will have its unique design just like the current model, and inside, it’s expected to resemble the new Swift. It’ll come with cool features like a floating 9-inch touchscreen, an updated center console, and extras such as a 360-degree parking camera and a wireless charger.
There’s buzz about the Maruti Suzuki eVX electric SUV concept, spotted doing trial runs in the country. It hints that the production model is almost ready. The eVX electric SUV might hit the Indian market by the second half of 2023, possibly before the festive season, given how close the test model looks to being production-ready.
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