We take a closer look at Grand Vitara’s performance in the Indian market over the past 12 months.
Published on Sep 30, 2023 09:00:00 AM
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The Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara was launched on September 26, 2022, and has just completed a year of being on sale in India. The midsize SUV has been co-developed with Toyota, and spawns a sibling in the Urban Cruiser Hyryder. What’s most distinctive about the Grand Vitara is its strong-hybrid powertrain that fills up for the lack of a diesel engine that’s still quite popular in this segment.
The Grand Vitara replaced the ageing and slow-selling Maruti Suzuki S-Cross as a more worthy competitor to the likes of the Hyundai Creta, and also resurrected the ‘Grand Vitara’ moniker after almost a decade. We look at the Grand Vitara’s journey over the past 12 months and analyse this midsize SUV’s impact on the market.
The Grand Vitara was launched with prices ranging between Rs 10.45 lakh-16.89 lakh for the petrol variants, while the hybrid variants were priced between Rs 17.99 lakh-19.49 lakh, which is quite competitive for the segment. The hybrid variants, however, were a bit more expensive than Toyota’s Hyryder.
Over the course of the year, the prices for the petrol Grand Vitara went up by Rs 2,000-25,000, while the hybrid variants have become dearer by Rs 34,000. That’s still significantly lower than the Hyryder, which saw prices hiked by up to Rs 1 lakh. The CNG variants were added to the line-up in January this year, making it the first midsize SUV to get this fuel option.
| Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara price | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Variant | Current Price | Price at launch | Difference |
| Sigma MT | Rs 10.70 lakh | Rs 10.45 lakh | Rs 25,000 |
| Delta MT | Rs 12.10 lakh | Rs 11.90 lakh | Rs 20,000 |
| Delta CNG MT | Rs 13.05 lakh | Rs 12.85 lakh | Rs 20,000 |
| Delta AT | Rs 13.60 lakh | Rs 13.40 lakh | Rs 20,000 |
| Zeta MT | Rs 13.91 lakh | Rs 13.89 lakh | Rs 2,000 |
| Zeta CNG MT | Rs 14.86 lakh | Rs 14.84 lakh | Rs 2,000 |
| Zeta AT | Rs 15.41 lakh | Rs 15.39 lakh | Rs 2,000 |
| Alpha MT | Rs 15.41 lakh | Rs 15.39 lakh | Rs 2,000 |
| Alpha AT | Rs 16.91 lakh | Rs 16.89 lakh | Rs 2,000 |
| Alpha AWD AT | Rs 16.91 lakh | Rs 16.89 lakh | Rs 2,000 |
| Zeta+ Hybrid | Rs 18.33 lakh | Rs 17.99 lakh | Rs 34,000 |
| Alpha+ Hybrid | Rs 19.83 lakh | Rs 19.49 lakh | Rs 34,000 |
Over the past 12 months, the Grand Vitara sold an average of about 8,300 units per month, significantly higher than sibling Hyryder, which averaged just about 3,200 units per month. This can be attributed to Maruti’s stronger network, better brand value and marginally lower price than the Toyota. Of all units sold, about a quarter were the strong-hybrid variants while CNG variants made up 14 percent.
With production prioritised for the Grand Vitara, Maruti also did not face as many issues with soaring waiting periods as Toyota did with the Hyryder. In fact, with a steady rise in sales, the Grand Vitara was quick to climb up to become the second bestselling midsize SUV each month, trailing behind only the Hyundai Creta, although by a fair margin.
More recently, Maruti also announced the Grand Vitara clocked 1 lakh sales since launch, making it the fastest midsize SUV to hit the landmark milestone.
The Grand Vitara has already been recalled thrice so far. The first was in December 2022, to replace a front seat belt shoulder height adjuster plate assembly. In January 2023, the company issued a second recall due to a suspected issue with the airbag controller where the Grand Vitara was part of over 17,000 Maruti’s that were recalled. Shortly after came the third recall due to a possible defect in rear seatbelt mounting brackets which affected more than 11,000 units.
A few teething issues and production-related constraints aside, the Grand Vitara, along with its sibling Hyryder, has really gone the length in democratising hybrid tech in India.
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