Maruti Suzuki targets sales of 4,000-5,000 S-Cross units a month

In a bid to reposition itself as a significant player in the premium car segment in India, Maruti Suzuki yesterday launched its all-new crossover, the S-Cross. The company is targeting sales of around 4,000-5,000 units of the car every month, senior company officials told Autocar Professional in Mumbai today.

The S-Cross is the first car to be rolled out from the company’s recently unveiled premium Nexa dealerships. The crossover comes with twin diesel options – the DDiS 200 1.3L across four variants (Sigma/ Rs 8.83 lakh, Delta/Rs 9.68 lakh, Zeta/Rs 9.99 lakh and Alpha/Rs 11.36 lakh) as well as the DDiS 320 1.6L at Rs 12.66 lakh for Delta trim, Rs 13.71 lakh for Zeta, and Rs 14.50 lakh for the Alpha variant.

Maruti has entered the premium car segment with a resolve to provide an unparalleled customer experience through its Nexa dealerships, it claims. With 35 Nexa showrooms already opened, the company has announced plans to set up a total of 100 Nexa showrooms by the end of the financial year in March 2016.

According to RS Kalsi, executive director (sales and marketing), the initial small number of Nexa dealerships will not affect the S-Cross’ sales as the company has chalked out the location of Nexa dealerships according to the expected region-specific demand. “According to our estimates, around 80% of the crossover demand would come from the regions that we have selected to set up our Nexa dealerships,” he says.

How Nexa dealerships were chosen 

There has been a lot of talk surrounding the selection process of Nexa dealerships and Maruti Suzuki has clarified on the criteria for dealerships to be turned into Nexa showrooms.

Speaking to Autocar Professional on the sidelines of S-Cross’ Mumbai launch today, Kalsi said that in the first phase of the selection process, dealerships with brownfield properties were preferred.

“Our intent was that these showrooms should be brownfield properties as they could come up fast as a greenfield project takes longer. In the second phase of selection, there are some dealers with greenfield projects. Also by that time we will have more products; so this is how we are planning to set up our Nexa dealerships,” said Kalsi.

Additionally, the company has employed a hub-and-spoke model under which it will make the S-Cross available in regions where the Nexa dealerships are not present. The company has devised a margin sharing agreement between Nexa and its existing dealerships to help customers complete the purchase, Kalsi revealed.

Apart from focusing on the premium car segment, Maruti still wants to retain its market leader status in the country, Kalsi added. Maruti Suzuki India’s market share in end-June 2015 was an overwhelming 53 percent.

The company will not let go of its dominant share in the mass market segment easily and intends to open around 200 new Maruti Suzuki showrooms by the end of 2016. Currently, the company has 1,660 showrooms across the country.

Also read: Price Analysis of Maruti Suzuki S-Cross vs Rivals