The MUV market has strong potentials in India with Toyota Innova, Mahindra Xylo and Chevrolet Tavera dominating this segment. So how come India’s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki, lack behind. The company currently lacks significant presence in the SUV/MUV segment. So in order to grab a bigger slice of the MUV segment, Maruti Suzuki is planning to introduce a multi-utility vehicle at the start of 2012 based on the R3 concept that Maruti is developing in India. It is likely to be launched in the range of Rs 7-9 lakh to compete with Toyota Innova and Mahindra Xylo.
Maruti Suzuki R3 Concept
“There’s a lot more competition now as compared to 5 years earlier. They are getting into MUV’s, which is a clear sign of expanding the product lineup,” Rakesh Batra, auto partner at Ernst and Young said.
Maruti had showcased the R3 Concept model at the Delhi Auto Expo 2010 earlier in January this year. The R3 shown at Delhi Auto Expo is a six-passenger compact van with three rows of seats and rear-hinged rear doors. It is built on a stretched version of the Suzuki SX4 platform. The Maruti Suzuki R3 will offer Indian customers a choice of four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines, as well as a compressed natural gas option.
The exciting news is that Volkswagen and Skoda are also interested in this platform to launch their own product in the Indian Market. As Maruti-Suzuki is an expert in mass volume and low cost, VW may leverage its relationship by making their own MUV’s contract manufactured by Maruti. The model will undergo testing in the next few months post which it will also be shown to VW.
