In a bid to secure top position in the sports utility vehicle segment, Maruti Suzuki India on Thursday unveiled two new products — Jimny and Fronx — in the country.
The country’s largest carmaker also seeks to regain 50 per cent market share in the domestic passenger vehicle segment by bolstering its presence in the sports utility vehicle (SUV) space. Unveiling the products at the Auto Expo 2023, Maruti Suzuki India MD and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said the company’s medium-term goal has been to get back 50 per cent market share and secure the number one position in the SUV segment.
In order to fulfil the stated goals, the company has unveiled the two new products today, he added. “I am confident that Maruti Suzuki will attain number one position in the SUV segment in the financial year 23-24,” Takeuchi said. He noted that there has been a rapid shift in customer preference towards SUVs in the Indian market. He added that the company’s recently launched SUVs, Grand Vitara and Brezza, have received a resounding response from the market and are enjoying strong customer demand.
The Jimny comes with half a century of heritage. Suzuki has sold more than 3.2 million units of Jimny worldwide, in 199 countries and regions. But, to introduce Jimny to the Indian market, it had to be built as per the needs of Indian customers, Takeuchi noted. “Jimny in its five-door avatar is being unveiled first in India today. Positioned as an all-terrain, robust, compact lifestyle SUV, this authentic 4-Wheel-Drive off-roader can tackle the harshest of terrains,” he added.
Takeuchi noted that Fronx comes with a new one-litre Turbo Boosterjet Direct Injection engine. The company commenced the bookings of both the models which would be sold through its Nexa retail outlets. Deliveries are expected to begin in the first quarter of next financial year. Last fiscal, the market share of Maruti Suzuki in the SUV space stood at just 10.9 per cent. The lower share in the SUV market is seen as the reason for an overall drop in market share for the company in the passenger vehicle segment. From 51 per cent in the fiscal year 2019, the market share dropped down to around 42 per cent in the second quarter of this fiscal year.
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