Maruti Suzuki Overtakes Mahindra To Become India's Largest Utility Vehicle Maker

Maruti Suzuki sells the Vitara Brezza, and the S-Cross in the UV segment has overtaken the sustained dominance from the manufacturer of Scorpio and Bolero for the second consecutive month, emphasising Maruti Suzuki as a serious contender to be the leader in the SUV segment.

Most of the demand was for the Brezza and the Ertiga MPV, Maruti Suzuki sold 5,500 units of UVs more than Mahindra & Mahindra in the first two months of the financial year 2018.

While Mahindra sold 18,363 units in April and 19,331 units in May, Maruti outsold Mahindra by selling 20,638 units in April and 22,608 units in May. However, when you consider the calendar year, Mahindra is ahead of Maruti Suzuki by 5,000 units.

Much of the credit goes to Maruti's approach in adding new production line in its plant; the company was able to register a growth of 45 percent in UV volumes, while M&M recorded a decline in sales of 6 percent.

M&M sells various models under the UV segment, but the sub-4 metre SUV segment is where Maruti seems to be dominant. With the launch of a single model under the sub-4 meter segment, the Brezza is selling close to 10,000 units a month consistently. Currently, the Brezza has over 50,000 bookings.

Mahindra, on the other hand, has the KUV 100, TUV 300, Nuvo Sport and Bolero Plus under the sub-4 segment, despite having four models, they have not been able to drive sales, resulting in the decline in market share.

Buyers have chosen models such as the Brezza, and the Ertiga cannot be considered that customers have shifted from Mahindra to Maruti.

But the two models from Maruti seems to have created their space in the UV market and buyers who once considered sedans and hatchbacks had changed preferences to SUVs, be it compact or large size SUVs.

Also, critical factors such as the ban on diesel vehicles and large SUVs as well as lack of petrol powertrains led to the lack in demand for Mahindra vehicles.