NEW DELHI: Maruti Suzuki drove in the upgraded Brezza on Thursday as the company promised to introduce a series of SUVs to take on off-roaders from companies such as Tata Motors, Hyundai, and M&M. The country’s largest carmaker has been feeling the absence of SUVs in its line-up, and just had the previous-generation Brezza and the bigger S-Cross in its off-roader portfolio. The auto industry has nearly 50 SUV models, which together account for around 40% of the domestic passenger vehicles sales. The absence of a strong line-up and new-generation models has been hurting the prospects of Maruti, prompting the company to go on an overdrive in the category.
“The new-gen Brezza is here, and we have a few more SUVs in the pipeline,” Maruti’s new MD and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said. New Brezza will be available in manual and automatic versions, priced between Rs 7. 99 lakh and Rs 13. 96 lakh (ex-showroom).
Takeuchi said Maruti plans to strengthen the company’s line-up across segments, with a special focus on SUV portfolio. In line with the rapid modernisation of the automotive industry, he said, the company’s new model will be high on design, technology and features.
Maruti said Brezza has been the company’s first model to be conceived, designed, and developed exclusively for India. Since its launch in March 2016, Maruti has sold over 7. 5 lakh units of Brezza. The model still sells around 10,000 units on a monthly basis.
