New-gen Maruti Suzuki Ertiga registered 67 percent YoY sales growth in December 2018 as 7,155 units were sold
Maruti Suzuki introduced the Ertiga ahead of anywhere else in the world in India back in 2012 and the first generation model served for more than six years before receiving a comprehensive new version on November 21, 2018. With much anticipation, Suzuki unveiled the second-gen Ertiga at the 2018 IIMS (Indonesia International Motor Show) in April.
And it took Maruti Suzuki until November 2018 for Maruti Suzuki to bring out the new MPV as it planned to capitalise on the festive season rush. As expected the 2018 Ertiga made an immediate impact and within five weeks of its market entry, about 23,000 bookings were made – at a rate of almost 1,000 orders per day.
The seven-seater’s launch was preceded by the launch of Mahindra’s highly promising Marazzo. Rivalling the top-end variants of the Ertiga, the Marazzo got off to a great start and in its first four months in the market, more than 13,000 units have been sold. However, the Ertiga seems unfazed by the Marazzo’s arrival as it has scaled more than 7,000 units in December 2018.
At 7,155 units, the new Ertiga endured 67 percent YoY sales growth compared to the same month in 2017 when 4,288 units were retailed. And when pitted against November 2018, 793 more units were sold at 12 percent sales increase. Courtesy of the new-gen Ertiga, Maruti Suzuki is expected to post a strong sales growth in Q4 FY19.
It will be accompanied by the brand new Wagon R going on sale on January 23. The Ertiga has a starting price of Rs. 7.44 lakh for the LXi trim and it goes all the way up to Rs. 10.90 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the range-topping ZDi+ diesel. It sits on the lightweight fifth generation Heartect platform with bigger dimensions ensuring roomier cabin than the outgoing model.
Besides the plethora of visual enhancements, the Ertiga boasts an upmarket interior and a newly developed powertrain. The 1.5-litre K15B SHVS petrol engine replaces the 1.4-litre unit and it develops 104.7 PS of maximum power at 6,000 rpm and 138 Nm output of peak torque delivered at 4,400 rpm.
It is mated to either a standard five-speed manual or a four-speed torque converter automatic transmission. The 1.3-litre SHVS diesel engine, pumping out 90 PS at 4,000 rpm and 200 Nm at 1,750 rpm, is also expected to make way for a bigger 1.5-litre DDiS 225 non-SHVS version debuting in the Ciaz next month with 95 PS and 225 Nm outputs.