Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), the country's favourite passenger car maker, is gearing up towards introducing its first compact Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) in the domestic market somewhere in 2014-15 financial year. The new model will be based on the company's XA Alpha concept, which was unveiled to the Indian audience during the Auto Expo held in New Delhi last January 2012. The Suzuki XA Alpha concept in a compact SUV guise was resplendent with futuristic appeal and received admiration from general public and the entire automobile industry.
According to Financial Express, Maruti Suzuki could call its stylish XA Alpha concept based compact SUV- 'Jimny', when it is launched in the country. The vehicle is expected to be introduced in both petrol and diesel guises, with under-the-hood specifications similar to that of Maruti Suzuki Ertiga Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV). The XA Alpha model received rave reviews from industry experts and critics, with many of them even saying that the car could prove decisive for the company's perspective in the utility vehicle segment of the Indian passenger car market.
Expressing his opinion regarding the company's plans for Indian utility vehicle sector, a top level Maruti Suzuki official was quoted as saying, “We made our intention clear at the Auto Expo (displayed the compact SUV concept) and work is progressing rapidly on it. UV is a growing space and Ertiga was our first mark. We’re talking about few other products, but have to see what fructifies.”
Top industry boffins believe that Maruti Suzuki could pitch its XA Alpha concept based compact SUV alongside its Ertiga MPV in the country. Accordingly, pricing of the car maker's first compact SUV is anticipated to fall within price tags of Rs. 5 to 8 lakhs in the Indian auto market. The aggressive pricing could well illustrate the fact that Maruti Suzuki could establish itself as a prominent name even in the utility vehicle segment. Prior to its Ertiga MPV, the company had no real success in the utility vehicle segment, which underlines importance of the segment to Maruti Suzuki.
Upon its launch on Indian turf, the Maruti Suzuki's XA Alpha concept based compact SUV is expected to pose some stiff competition against the likes of segment leaders Renault Duster and Mahindra Quanto. Further, by the time XA Alpha derived car is launched in 2014-15, the domestic compact SUV market will most probably be populated with many other exciting models like Ford EcoSport, Chevrolet Trax and Renault 4x4 Duster amongst others. Therefore, an intense cut throat competition is expected in the compact SUV segment of Indian auto market in the near future.
