Maruti’s first crack at the sub-four metre segment has proved to be among its most successful launches in the recent past, with hordes of customers queuing up at Maruti dealerships and waiting periods of even up to nine months for certain variants of the Brezza. According to estimates, the carmaker is believed to have sold close to 11,000-12,000 units of the SUV in September, taking the total sales till now to well over 50,000 units in India (the carmaker had sold 47,047 units of the SUV till August).
The latest Maruti SUV has been a hit among Indian buyers as it ticks all the right boxes in terms of cabin space, equipment, safety and fuel economy. Powered by the same 1.3-litre Fiat-sourced diesel engine (DDis 200) found on the Ertiga, Ciaz and S-cross, the Brezza develops a maximum power of 90.2hp and 200Nm of torque. The SUV does the 0-100kph sprint in 13.3 seconds. One of its highlights is its spacious cabin which is high on practicality, houses an advanced infotainment system and an array of first-in-segment features. Even though Maruti was a late entrant in the booming compact SUV segment, it not only took on the likes of well-established players such as the Ford EcoSport and the Renault Duster but also managed to outsell Hyundai’s Creta to capture the top spot in UV sales in July and has since retained the top spot. The overwhelming success of the model has also helped the carmaker increase its UV market share to 24 percent in August end from just 14 percent a year ago.
Given the surging sales for the Brezza, Maruti has already cashed in and hiked prices of the Brezza by Rs 20,000 in August. The manufacturer has also ramped up production of the Brezza to reduce the long waiting periods. Along with the Baleno (which crossed 1,00,000 units in less than a year), the Brezza is the new growth driver for the country’s largest carmaker as it shifts focus on premium models from purely mass-market cars, which are witnessing a slowdown. The carmaker is devoting more capacity to its new crop of cars and with the Gujarat plant expected to come on stream early next year, the sales of these two models are likely to get an even further boost in the coming months.
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