Once again Maruti shows what it takes to be a leader in not one but many segments.
Maruti Suzuki has been known for its dominance in the small car segment, but things seem to surely have changed in the past two years. Their new launches like the Baleno, Vitara Brezza and Ciaz have become the leading vehicles in their respective segments.
According to sales reports, the Maruti Ciaz completely outsold its opponents like the Honda City, Hyundai Verna, Volkswagen Vento and Skoda Rapid. Even after demonetisation, the Ciaz was the only car to show a rise in sales for the month of January 2017 compared to its other rivals. In the past 10 months, the Ciaz fetched 53,644 units compared to the 45,395 unit sales of the Honda City which is its nearest rival.
Same like the mid-size sedan segment, Maruti Suzuki has also been leading in the compact SUV segment with its Vitara Brezza outselling its primary rival, the Ford EcoSport. It also outsold the Hyundai Creta and Mahindra Bolero. The Maruti Vitara Brezza fetched 88,537 units between April-January, in the same time period, Hyundai sold 77,896 units of the Creta.
Now coming to the premium hatchback segment, this has been a very exciting segment for the Indian market, this segment used to be dominated by the Hyundai Elite i20, but now the Elite i20 faces tough competition from its newly launched rivals like the Honda Jazz and Maruti Baleno. The Baleno has however managed to takeover the crown from the Elite i20, the Japanese hatchback fetched 96,720 units between the month of April to January. In the same time period, the Elite i20 sold 86,722 units. The Jazz has been underperforming by only selling 26,269 units. This can be attributed to the lower features and high price.
Maruti Suzuki credits this growth in the premium segment to their NEXA retail network. The Baleno, S-Cross and Ignis are currently sold through NEXA outlets and the Ciaz will join soon. With Honda all set to launch the City facelift next week, it will be interesting to see if the Ciaz can maintain its segment domination.
Maruti Dominates Premium Segment
– The Maruti Ciaz leads the mid-size sedan market over the Honda City
– The Maruti Vitara Brezza leads the compact SUV segment over the Hyundai Creta
– The Maruti Baleno gets the better of the Hyundai Elite i20 in the premium hatchback segment
