Maruti Suzuki launches crossover vehicle in late assault on INDIA'S SUV market

Aug 11, 2015 India’s leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki has launched a crossover vehicle as it tries to keep up with competitors such as Ford Motor Co and Renault SA in the fast-growing SUV market.

Maruti Suzuki’s managing director and CEO in India, Kenichi Ayukawa, told reporters in New Delhi that the launch was a step to garner a bigger share in a market segment where it currently wasn’t represented.

“Another very important initiative is launching new products and entering new segments. We recognize, leadership is not only about numbers and market shares. It is about the challenging spirit which is the DNA of Maruti Suzuki,”

The car manufacturer has set an ambitious target to double its annual sales to 2 million vehicles by 2020, a prospect that lines up with analysts projection that India will become the world’s third-largest automobile market with projected sales of more than 5 million vehicles every year.

“As far as we prepare that good product for the customer it means that the customer is expecting some change, something new, something different. If we provide such kind of product, maybe we can get some new customers and then we can expand our business further,” said Ayukawa.

The base diesel model of the ‘S-Cross’ will be competing with Ford’s ‘EcoSport’, Renault’s ‘Duster’ and the recently launched ‘Creta’ compact SUV from India’s No. 2 car seller ,Hyundai Motor Co.