Maruti and Toyota are working on a mid-size SUV which will range between Rs 10-20 Lakhs. Both of the SUVs will look different and will be launched by 2020.
Despite a major slowdown in the auto sector, debutants like Kia Motors and MG Motors have tasted great success in India with their new launches, the Seltos and Hector SUVs. This particular segment of SUVs ranging between Rs 10-20 Lakhs, is seeing popularity.
For the budget buyers, Maruti has covered all segments, almost. It has a huge range of hatchbacks, a sub-compact SUV, a compact SUV, a sub-compact sedan, a c-segment sedan, in all. What it misses out, is the premium small SUV segment, which includes Hyundai Creta, Tata Harrier, MG Hector and Kia Seltos.
In the 10-20 Lakh budget range, it has the S-Cross, but it is priced up to Rs 13 Lakhs. So, this is an ideal competitor for Renault Duster, Nissan Terrano and Ford EcoSport. But above that, there is no competitor.
If you see, a similar situation is with Toyota which has literally no mid-size or compact SUV. While the Toyota Rush was earlier reported to be launched in India, the chances now are seeming a bit unlikely.
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Fresh report from ET Auto suggests that Maruti and Toyota are actually working on covering this particular segment and plan to ‘ensure that the SUV market is adequately covered.’ We all are witnessing the boom in the demand of SUVs.
For this segment, we have only one Maruti car in sight. We expect Maruti to bring in the bigger Vitara in India as the competitor. It has already been spied testing in India a couple of times without any camouflage.
Maruti (Suzuki) Vitara is already available in the global markets and is a popular SUV out there. Back in the 2000s, we had Vitara and Grand Vitara, but they demanded a very high price, primarily because they were CBUs.
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However, some reports also suggest that there could be a brand-new SUV built jointly. The new SUV will use the architecture of Vitara Brezza. The SUV from Maruti and one from Toyota will just use the same platforms and engines. Both of them will look completely different and get different features as well.
We do not know when can we see the new SUV from Maruti, but we are likely to get some idea in the coming time. Could there be a showcase at the 2020 Auto Expo? Once can just hope.
