The new Maruti Suzuki Ertiga is continuously gaining popularity among the Indian buyers as evident by car sales numbers.
In a rather unusual turn of events, the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza has been taken over by new Ertiga in terms of sales in May 2019 numbers. Even though Maruti Suzuki witnessed a major slump of 22 percent dip in sales last month, the Ertiga MPV managed to witness remarkable growth over the last couple of months.
The new Ertiga was launched just six months ago and since then, Ertiga is clocking more than 7,000 units per month. The numbers grew in the last three months and Eriga is clocking more than 8,000 units with March 2019 being the best month for the MPV with 8,955 units sold.
In May 2019, Maruti Suzuki sold 8,864 units, a hefty 82% jump when compared to May 2018. When compared to the company’s successful Vitara Brezza, the compact SUV sold only 8,781 units. However, both the cars were in the top 10 list of the most sold cars in May 2019. The Ertiga was at the 9th spot while the Brezza was at the 10th spot.
The second-generation Ertiga MPV was given a new design, new platform, new engine options, and updated interiors. The Maruti Suzuki Ertiga is based on the company’s Heartect platform and is powered by a 1.5-litre K15 Smart Hybrid petrol engine that generates 104.7 PS @ 6,000 rpm and 138 Nm @ 4,400 rpm. The engine is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission.
Later, Ertiga received a new 1.5-litre diesel engine producing 95 PS and 225 Nm and mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. That said, Maruti Suzuki is going through some rough time when the Indian auto industry is concerned. Even though the company still commands more than 50% share in the domestic market, the sales are continuously dipping for a few months.
In May 2019, Maruti sold 1,34,641 units as compared to 1,72,512 units in May 2018, a huge decline of 22%. Among this, the utility segment which includes cars like the Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and Ertiga were down by 25.3 % with 19,152 units sold compared to 25,629 from May 2018. This means half of the sales were contributed by Ertiga alone.