More Exciting Maruti SUVs To Follow The Brezza: Hisashi Takeuchi, MD And CEO At Maruti Suzuki

The new Brezza is the first model of a new era of SUVs from the country’s largest carmaker

The new Maruti Brezza has just entered the Indian market with fresh exterior styling and tech-rich cabin. It is the company’s best-selling SUV that has dominated the segment. However, it is Maruti’s only competitive SUV, a lone success in a body segment that presently accounts for the largest share of India’s automotive market at around 40 percent. However, the carmaker already has plans in motion to change that in the coming months.

Confirmed by the CEO

“This model is the first offering in our upcoming vibrant SUV portfolio,” stated Hisashi Takeuchi, MD and CEO at Maruti Suzuki, during the premiere of the new Brezza. While not revealing any explicit details, Takeuchi confirms that Maruti is gearing up to introduce a fresh slew of SUV products in India that will compete in more premium SUV segments beyond the sub-4m classification. He later mentioned that the new Brezza “ushers a new era of next generation SUVs from Maruti Suzuki”. 

What’s coming next?

Maruti needs a competitive entry into the compact SUV space to rival the likes of the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos. So, the most significant new Maruti SUV will be the cross-badged version of the Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder and is expected to be called the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara. The S-Cross crossover will likely get an extension on life with a thorough facelift, as seen on the European model with the larger touchscreen infotainment system and the latest 1.5-litre petrol engine. The last known and the most awaited Maruti Suzuki SUV heading to India is the Jimny, but the timeline remains uncertain.

Maruti will offer a strong hybrid and AWD

The most distinctive element of the upcoming Maruti compact SUV will be its strong hybrid powertrain. It will feature a battery and a motor large enough for the vehicle to have an EV-only mode for slow speed maneuvers. Other times, it will be working in harmony with a 1.5-litre petrol engine to deliver peak fuel efficiency, higher than that of similarly sized diesel engines. Shared with Toyota, the Maruti-badged SUV will arrive by the festive season. Both these SUVs will also offer the segment-exclusive all-wheel-drive option with a regular petrol engine.

Related:Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder Hybrid SUV Breaks Cover, Bookings Now Underway

Five door Jimny

The current generation of the Suzuki Jimny has been on sale longer than the second-gen Mahindra Thar overseas. However, the quirky successor to the Maruti Gypsy is yet to arrive in India. Its only presence here has been for export production in Gurugram in its global-spec three-door avatar. For our market, Maruti intends to offer it in a five-door avatar that would be more practical as a family car and would guarantee higher volumes of sales. This new iteration has been spied testing a few times but there is still no clear timeline for its arrival to Indian showrooms.

Keeping the S-Cross alive

Update: Maruti has stopped the production of the S-Cross and will be replacing it with the new Grand Vitara SUV.

The S-Cross crossover actually predates the Vitara Brezza by a year. It is a good value-for-money proposition, but falls far behind its rivals in terms of technology and design. Internationally, it was given a thorough update in 2021 with sharper looks and a few added features. The India-spec S-Cross is due to get similar updates, which should keep the moniker alive. It will remain a Nexa SUV offering.

Will Maruti offer something bigger?

While Suzuki does have a larger SUV, the Across, in its global lineup, it is unlikely to come to India anytime soon. The Across is based on the Toyota RAV4, which has also not been brought to the market. As a mid-size SUV, it would be a potential rival to the likes of the Tata Harrier, MG Hector and Mahindra XUV700. While these models have enjoyed a fair bit of demand, the same may not be the case for a Maruti model of that size and pricing.