Maruti Thinks ‘Big’ After Ertiga Success

Buoyed by the success of multi-utility vehicle, Ertiga, India's largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, is now increasing focus on bigger cars and utility vehicles over the next 2-3 years to protect and build its market share in highly competitive passenger vehicle market. 

ET learns that Maruti Suzuki is making yet another attempt to revive, its mid-size sedan SX4 with a major facelift in 2013, which is codenamed YL1 and very interestingly there are 2-3 utility vehicles on the radar. 
A compact premium SUV, Grand Vitara which is imported as completely built unit, may be assembled/manufactured in India by 2014. The project is codenamed YAD, the affordable compact sports utility vehicle based on XA Alpha concept, which was showcased at the New Delhi Auto Expo, will be ready for roll out in 2015 and cross over utility vehicle based on SX4 platform is also part of the thought process. 
If the decision to assemble Grand Vitara is given a go ahead, it will be pitted against M&M's XUV 5OO and Skoda Yeti and XA Alpha – compact SUV will take on Ford's Ecosport & Renault Duster. The SX4 cross over will be an all new segment for India. When contacted, Maruti Suzuki said: "We do not comment on our future product plans." People close to the development told ET, while the SX4 sedan and the Grand Vitara development is led out of Japan, the Indian R&D will take lead responsibility in development of compact SUV (XA Alpha), in co-ordination with headquarters. 
These new products may hit M&M the most, and the Ertiga is already pitted against Xylo, going ahead Grand Vitara will be against XUV 5OO and the compact SUV will be competing against Scorpio. 
Maruti Suzuki's share in passenger vehicle space fell to its lowest in the last decade to about 38% last fiscal from about 43-44% in 2010-11. 
Barring limited number of Gypsys, till about last year, Maruti Suzuki was not present significantly in the UV space, which makes up for about 15-17% of the overall passenger vehicle market. With the launch of Ertiga, Maruti Suzuki has already managed bookings of over 40,000 to 50,000 units of Ertiga.