Wednesday, December 07, 2011
By Pranjal Gera
Maruti to mark its debut in SUV and MUV segments in India
The Indian auto giant Maruti Suzuki is mulling over to roll-out new cars in the segment of Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and Multi Utility Vehicles (MUVs) in the Indian market by year 2015. The decision has been taken in a bid to regain the crucial market share of over 50 percent in the Indian market, as both MUV and SUV segments witnessing considerable growth in the Indian market.
Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), which is 54.2% owned by Japanese auto giant Suzuki Motors, plans to develop a series of new SUVs and MUVs in association with its Japanese parent. These new utility vehicles will be launched in the country over the period of next 2-3 years, and the company plans to showcase a few of these models at the upcoming Delhi International Auto Expo in the month of January 2012.
Speaking on the occasion Maruti MD S Nakanishi said that there is a major chunk of the market, which is almost 18% of the passenger vehicles sold in the Indian market where the company doesn’t has any presence. The company is looking to mark its debut in the segments where it has no presence so far.
It is to be mentioned here that the company has lost almost 5 percent of its market share due to a series of strikes at its Manesar plant in last few months. The company is planning to launch about 15 models in the Indian market out of which about a dozen are expected to be from the compact car segment.
