Maruti Suzuki to add more premium cars to portfolio as the success of Vitara Brezza and Baleno has boosted the Indo-Japanese automaker
Maruti Suzuki, the leading car maker in the country, has been making aggressive moves to revitalise its strength in the premium segments of the market. So far, it has been very successful in doing so with the recent launches of Vitara Brezza sub-four metre SUV and the Baleno premium hatchback. The former rose to the top of the ladder quickly in the SUV space and is regularly found in the top three best-selling UVs monthly.
The highest sales achieved by the Vitara was 10,232 units in the month of July 2016 and it grabbed the top spot last month with 9,554 examples. Same can be said for the Baleno as to a certain extent it dented the sales of the hugely-popular Swift compact hatchback from its own stable. Comparing against its arch rival, the Hyundai i20, it is doing equally good numbers as December 2015 was capped off with 10,572 units as the highest ever while last month saw deliveries of 8,671.
Also Read: Top 10 Selling Cars in August 2016
Both Vitara Brezza and Baleno have featured in the top ten list of best-selling cars in the last two months. The Vitara Brezza dropped two places to eighth in August as against sixth position the previous month while Baleno was able to hold on to ninth slot in the last couple of months. Spurred by the rise of Baleno and Vitara Brezza, Maruti Suzuki India has said to be consolidating premium car segment.
Kenichi Ayukawa, MD and CEO of MSIL, told Times of India that the company has to respond all the customer expectations due to the growth of slightly upmarket segment. Besides working on new premium strategies, Maruti Suzuki has not forgotten its ultimate volume seller in the entry-level segment.
Also Read: Maruti Suzuki to Launch More SUVs in India
The brand is preparing a new generation version of the Alto to compete against the Renault Kwid said Ayukawa. With the new future strategy, the company that holds 47 percent market share, expects 10 percent sales growth as a third shift is said to be considered at the manufacturing facilities in Gurgaon and Manesar besides commencing operation in a new Gujarat plant.
Source: ET Auto