Maruti Suzuki India christens upcoming MPV as Invicto; eyes substantial market share in three-row premium segment with new offering

New Delhi, June 13

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Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) is looking to attain a sizable market share in the growing three-row premium vehicle segment, spread across SUV and MPV body styles, with its new offering “Invicto” which is slated to hit markets on July 5, a senior company official said on Tuesday.

The country’s largest carmaker is looking to gain a foothold in the above Rs 20 lakh segment with the new model after having attained leadership in the Rs 15-20 lakh vehicle segment last fiscal.

In an interaction with PTI, MSI Senior Executive Officer (Marketing and Sales) Shashank Srivastava said the company is foraying into the three-row MPV/SUV segment which has been gaining traction in the domestic market.

The three-row SUV/MPV segment stood at around 2.58 lakh units last fiscal with vehicles priced over Rs 20 lakh accounting for around 1.2-1.25 lakh units, he noted.

“We feel there is a market for three-row premium MPV/SUVs out there. There are customers who are looking for a premium three-row vehicle which is either an MPV or an SUV or has characteristics of both,” Srivastava noted.

This segment is emerging and is becoming pretty big, he added.

“The customers in this segment are not looking specifically for an SUV or an MPV. What they need is a premium three-row vehicle with a lot of space and good driving performance, features and technology. So we have decided to participate in this segment,” Srivastava said.

MSI will source the strong hybrid model from Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) as part of a global collaboration between Toyota and Suzuki.

TKM already sells Innova HyCross in the domestic market and the same would be supplied to MSI with certain changes in design and other elements.

MSI plans to commence bookings for the Invicto, which would be sold through its Nexa retail channel, on June 19, Srivastava said.

He noted that MSI is the market leader in the below Rs 10 lakh vehicle segment with a market share of around 60 per cent and now looking to garner volumes in the higher segments as well.

“In the Rs 10-15 lakh category, we have become the leaders with a market share of around 30 per cent. Now we are foraying into this three row segment above Rs 20 lakh with this vertical now becoming popular among buyers,” Srivastava said.

The product will also have a good rub-off effect on the overall brand image of the company, he added.

“Hopefully like in the Rs 10-15 lakh category where we quickly became market leaders, we hope that in the over Rs 20 lakh segment also we are able to get a substantial market share,” Srivastava said.

MSI aspires to become the leading SUV player this fiscal with a market share of around 25 per cent. It has recently launched two models Fronx and Jimny to strengthen its product range.