Maruti Suzuki is considered to be the dominant player in the Indian hatchback segment and is now planning to increase its stake in the higher-end compact segment, especially in the SUV category. Sources confirmed to HT Auto that India’s largest automaker is looking to launch a new model that will compete with the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos compact SUV segments.

Maruti already owns the S-Cross SUV. Market segments, but their sales figures are not competitive enough to cause problems for market segment leaders such as Creta or Seltos. Maruti is expected to launch a facelifted version of S-Cross soon, which was officially unveiled on the global market recently. However, Maruti will bet on a new model to counter other compact SUVs with multiple functions. Maruti is likely to work hand in hand with Toyota Motor to reach an agreement with Toyota Motor to share models in the Indian market.

Maruti’s next major announcement may be an SUV jointly developed by two automakers. Although Toyota has relabeled Maruti Baleno and Brezza versions in India, Maruti has not yet launched any relabeled Toyota models in the country.

The compact SUV segment provides opportunities for two automakers. Toyota relies heavily on the sale of Fortuner SUVs and Innova Crysta MPVs in India, and does not offer any cars of its own in the compact SUV segment. Toyota may drive its RAV4, one of the world’s best-selling SUVs, in an attempt to capture the compact SUV cake dominated by Korean automakers. Toyota RAV4 may become the basis for Maruti to develop its new compact SUV. Maruti’s Japanese partner Suzuki has launched a model called Across in the global market, which is mainly based on the Toyota RAV4 SUV.

Maruti and Toyota are likely to follow the same model and soon build a new SUV for India. Although the official is still waiting for the official announcement, Maruti is unlikely to drive the new SUV at any time before 2023. Much depends on the situation of Covid and the ongoing supply crisis before Maruti launches a new compact SUV for the Indian market.

News Source : HT Auto