Maruti Suzuki’s SUV portfolio is emerging as a key growth engine for the automaker, with the segment’s growth accelerating to 167% in July-August from 144% in the first quarter. SUVs now account for 32% of Maruti’s overall portfolio, with their contribution increasing every month as the company expands production capacity to meet demand.
The Brezza, Grand Vitara and Victoris are among the key SUVs driving the portfolio, with strong demand across their available powertrains. The Brezza facelift alone has around 50,000 bookings and a waiting period of two months.
“Our SUV Q1 growth was 144% and in July-August this year it’s 167%. Plant ramp up is in process and we are making more vehicles and increasing our share in SUV segment,” Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer, marketing & sales, Maruti Suzuki, said.
Maruti’s SUV line-up spans multiple powertrains, including petrol and CNG options, while the company has also entered the electric SUV space with the eVitara. CNG continues to see strong demand, with CNG versions of the Victoris, Grand Vitara and Brezza recording higher waiting periods than other powertrains.
Around 38% of Brezza bookings are for CNG, while the other two powertrain options account for slightly lower shares. Maruti plans to continue its CNG strategy and product innovation despite CNG price increases being outside its control.
The growing SUV demand comes as Maruti ramps up production capacity. The company expects production capacity in the second and third quarters to be higher than in the first quarter as recently commissioned lines in Gujarat and Kharkhoda are ramped up. It expects to reach full capacity on the two new lines in the coming months.
“Production capacity in Q2 and Q3 will be higher than Q1 as we add capacity,” Banerjee said, adding that the Brezza is a new model and it takes time to stabilise production on the line.
Maruti currently has around 1.8 lakh pending bookings across powertrains, while network inventory stands at just 16 days. The company expects its teams to cater to the high demand as additional capacity comes on stream.
Maruti produced around 1.8 lakh units this month, compared with 2 lakh units in the previous month. Banerjee said the difference was partly due to three fewer production days in August because of holidays.
The automaker is also seeing strong demand across other segments. Small-car sales grew more than 200% between April and August, while van sales increased 111%. Maruti is also focusing on sedans and SUVs, but Banerjee said capacity constraints are limiting the company’s ability to do more.
“We can do more however there are capacity constraints. It is mainly the right product mix and right price that is being offered. We are having a play in all segments and we think are offering right products at the right pricing,” he said.
