Popular family MPV becomes the latest Maruti Suzuki model to surpass a million-unit sales, taking 11 years and nine months from launch in April 2012. The last 100,000 units have been sold in just eight months.
09 Feb 2024 | 15665 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
The Maruti Ertiga MPV has achieved sales of a million units (10 lakh) in the domestic market. Launched on April 16, 2012, Maruti Suzuki India's first crack at the MPV segment has taken 143 months or 11 years and nine months to achieve this big number.
As accurately predicted on ...
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The Maruti Ertiga MPV has achieved sales of a million units (10 lakh) in the domestic market. Launched on April 16, 2012, Maruti Suzuki India's first crack at the MPV segment has taken 143 months or 11 years and nine months to achieve this big number.
As accurately predicted on June 26, 2023 by Autocar Professional, the Ertiga has gone on to achieve the million-sales milestone within FY2024. The MPV had driven past the 900,000 sales mark in June 2023.
The Maruti Ertiga’s million milestone comes a little over a month after the Maruti Brezza compact SUV achieved the million-sales milestone in December 2023.
At end-December 2023, the Ertiga needed 16,412 units to surpass the 10 lakh or one-million-units sales milestone, which would have come up with cumulative wholesales in January 2024 and the first week of February 2024.
As per Autocar Professional’s data analytics, from launch through to end-December 2023, the Ertiga had sold a total of 983,588 units, which was 16,412 units shy of the million-units mark. The popular MPV, which sold 104,718 units in the first 9 months of FY2024 and averaged monthly sales of 11,635 units, would have sold the additional 16,412 units required to hit the million-unit mark in January and the first week of February.
A close look at the Ertiga's cumulative sales data (above) reveals that the MPV took just 37 months from launch to drive past the 200,000-units mark, around 62 months or a little over five years to cross the 400,000 mark. The popular family MPV crossed the 700,000-unit mark in early November 2021, news of which Autocar Professional broke. The run from 700,000 to 800,000 sales took 10 months, while that from 800,000 to 900,000 units has taken 11 months. The last 100,000 unit sales have come up in a scant eight months.
The MPV’s best performance in a fiscal was in FY2023 with 127,679 units, recording 9% year-on-year growth and going past its previous best (FY2022: 117,150 units). Ranked No. 5 in India’s Top 30 best-selling UVs in FY2023, this performance as India’s best-selling MPV, ahead of the Kia Carens and Toyota Innova, saw it account for 6.37% of India Auto Inc’s record UV sales of 20,03,718 units.
With estimated wholesales of 121,350 units between April 2023 and January 2024, it can be surmised that the Ertiga is well set to achieve its best fiscal sales in FY2024, with two months still to go for the current fiscal to end.
While demand for the petrol variant remains strong, the CNG variant, which Maruti Suzuki launched in February 2020, has successfully filled the vacuum left by the carmaker’s withdrawal from the diesel market in April 2020.
Feature-laden top-end variants a hit with buyers
Commenting on the Ertiga’s success, Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki India said: “The Ertiga has redefined the concept of an MPV as a stylish and technologically advanced offering. It has become a preferred choice for young, tech-conscious customers who love spending time with family and friends. The modern appeal of the Ertiga has seen first-time customers for the MPV increase up to 41%, driven by a rise in younger urban customers."
Srivastava added, "It’s also worth noting that 66% of the Ertiga buyers consider it as a pre-determined choice, cementing its picture-perfect appeal as a lifestyle family vehicle. The stylish, versatile and dependable Ertiga is a hit across the country in both urban and rural markets, with an impressive 37.5% segment market share.”
Top-end variants of the Ertiga are a big draw with MPV buyers due to the array of advanced features including a 17.78cm (7-inch) Smartplay Pro touchscreen infotainment system with Arkamys Surround Sense, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, MID with turn-by-turn navigation, Suzuki Connect with over 40 features, remote A/C, automatic headlamps, cruise control and machined two-tone alloy wheels.
Ace of space
The new Ertiga, which won Autocar India’s Car of the Year 2019 award, benefits from clever packaging. Despite being a seven-seater, it is still compact in dimensions, and its light controls and good all-round visibility make it very user-friendly and easy to drive. The interiors are more spacious and feel plusher, and the well-cushioned seats take cabin comfort up a few notches.
One of the Ertiga’s USPs is its comfortable seating and a versatile cabin. To enable easy ingress and egress to the third-row, the second-row seat comes equipped with a one-touch recline and slide mechanism. The 50:50 split third row seats with seatback recliner and flat-fold option add to the convenience and flexibility.
Second-generation Ertiga helps accelerate sales momentum
On April 15, 2022, on the 10th anniversary of the MPV, Maruti Suzuki launched the next-gen Ertiga. Pricing for the current Ertiga, available across nine variants, starts at Rs 835,000 for the base LXI variant through to Rs 12.79 lakh for the top-end ZXi+ AT variant.
The MPV is powered by a new K-series 1.5-litre dual-jet, dual VVT engine equipped with the company’s smart hybrid technology. This engine develops maximum power of 75.8 kW at 6000rpm and a max torque of 136.8 Nm at 4400rpm; the car has both manual and auto transmission options. Available both in petrol and CNG, the Ertiga delivers a claimed mileage of 20.51 kilometres a litre (petrol) and 26.11km/kg (CNG).
On the safety front, the new Ertiga has dual airbags standard across all variants with four airbags available only in the ZXi+ variant. There is also ABS with EBD and brake assist, rear parking sensors, second row ISOFIX child seat anchorages, speed alert system, driver and co-driver seatbelt reminder as standard fitment across all the variants.
Another highlight of Ertiga ownership is that it holds onto its price when it comes to resale value. This easy-to-drive Maruti for large families won the 2023 OLX Autos Autocar Pre-Owned Car of the Year award for delivering on all fronts. Not only does it offer all the expected features and good space packaging but the clincher as a used car is the combination of a low depreciation and a low purchase price.
In India's ultra-competitive UV market, which is teeming with compact SUVs and more recently midsize SUVs, the Maruti Ertiga continues to maintain a strong presence as a sensible MPV for large families. A regular in India's monthly best-selling passenger vehicle chart, the urban-friendly MPV continues to bring in the numbers for Maruti Suzuki consistently.
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