With 33% market share, Maruti eyes top slot in SUV space by FY24

Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) — the market leader in small cars — is eyeing the top spot in the sports utility vehicle (SUV) segment within a year — with a 33 per cent share of the pie. 

The company has been selling two SUVs – the Brezza and the Grand Vitara – and will start deliveries of the Jimny and the Fronx from March-end, and has set a target of growing its share from the current 11.5 per cent of the SUV market to 33 per cent by the end of 2023-24. 

The SUV segment is roughly about 42 per cent of the total passenger vehicle market, or around 1.3 million units. 

Shashank Srivastava, senior executive director of MSIL, told Business Standard that they were already number 1 in the utility vehicles (UV) space, which includes multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) and SUVs. 

According to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) data, MSIL had an 18.5 per cent share of the UV market for April-January period of 2022-23, while Mahindra and Mahindra had 17.96 per cent share, and Tata Motors’ was 16.59 per cent. 

Srivastava explained that they enjoy a 50 per cent share of the MPV space where they have models like the Ertiga. 

“We have non-SUV market share in the overall PV space of 65 per cent. When we include SUVs, our overall PV market share comes down to below 45 per cent because our market share last year in the SUV space was only 11.5 per cent,” he added. SUVs are about 42.5 per cent of the overall PV market, and this year (2022-23) it will be 45 per cent. The SUV pie has grown. 

“If we maintain non-SUV market share of 65 per cent because our entry-level hatch market share is about 90 per cent, our van market share is 90 per cent, our MPV share is above 50 per cent; and want to achieve an overall PV market share of 50 per cent, then we need to achieve a market 33 per cent of the SUV market,” Srivastava claimed.

“Of the total 50 per cent market share we eye, 35 per cent will come from the non-SUV segment, and 15 per cent from SUVs. At the moment, we are 11.5 per cent, and that has to become 33 per cent,” he added. “In 2023-24, our target is to be number 1 in the SUV space also.”

At the moment, Tata Motors, Hyundai Motors India and Mahindra and Mahindra lead the SUV market. According to estimates, Tata Motors had more than 18 per cent share of the SUV market in FY22 and M&M had a 14-15 per cent share. 

Apart from the Brezza and the Grand Vitara, MSIL is all set to launch the new models – Jimny and Fronx. The cumulative bookings for Jimny have crossed 17,500 and for Fronx it is around 8,500.

“Grand Vitara came in September last year. In January, we had 15 per cent market share in the SUV segment. So the 11.5 per cent has already become 15 per cent. The real effect of Grand Vitara has not kicked in, but next year we will have a full year of Grand Vitara sales, and hopefully with better production,” Srivastava said.

In 2022-23, the production of Grand Vitara and Brezza has been affected. It will start supplies of Fronx and Jimny in March or April.