☰
Business India ×
  Magazine:
Automobiles

Published on: July 8, 2022, 3:10 p.m.
The new Brezza races ahead

  • Brezza: redefining the compact SUV segment; Photo: S M Boothem

By S.M. Boothem

Maruti Suzuki India’s Vitara Brezza has been a successful product ever since its launch in 2016.  The recently introduced new Brezza at a price between Rs7.99 lakh and Rs13.96 lakh has again won the hearts of customers by clocking more than 50,000 bookings. The Brezza in its new avatar comes as a feature-rich entry-level SUV.

“Conceptualized, designed and developed in India, Brezza, with its stylish design, bold stance and unmistakable road presence has redefined the compact SUV segment in India. The most loved compact SUV, with over 7,50,000 delighted customers has ruled the sales charts by consistently being among the top 10 best-selling passenger vehicles,” said Hisashi Takeuchi, MD and CEO, Maruti Suzuki at the launch.

“We started the Vitara Brezza in 2016 and it was a matter of pride for Maruti Suzuki’s engineering, design and development teams when we developed the Brezza from scratch.  And today after six years, we want to make the new Brezza stand out with better design, and performance and integrate more features for the new customers of today. So, all in all, the new Brezza is a great value proposition,” says CV Raman, Sr Executive Director – Engineering, Maruti Suzuki.

Suzuki standards

According to Raman, there were many challenges faced in making the new Brezza. From 2020 till 2022, the Covid pandemic created a lot of difficulties for the team, not only for Maruti but also its suppliers. There were setbacks in trying to meet timelines, keeping up quality levels and making sure everything was going just right.  But they also soon learned how to adjust to a new way of working in the digital age – working from home or working from anywhere, collaboration within the team and with the suppliers – to be able to meet the standards set by Suzuki.

A variety of features have been added to the new Brezza for the benefit of customers. The electric sunroof and the 360-view camera are the latest additions to the new Brezza. The 22.86 cm SmartPlay Pro+ Infotainment system with HD display offers an intuitive user interface with advanced Voice Assist. Wireless Charging Dock with LED indicator helps comfortable charging.

The Head-Up Display (HOD) allows customers to drive without taking their eyes off the road by displaying information like speed, rpm and fuel economy. It also offers 40+ connected features. Brezza sports six airbags, electric stability program (ESP) and Hill Hold Assist for the safety of the customer.

Young and aspirational customers

The compact SUV segment where Brezza is present has become the largest segment. Overall industry sales were 30.68 lakh units out of which about 12,30,000 were SUVs and the entry-level SUVs sold 6,52,000 numbers. It was not so large five years back. The top four compact SUVs were Brezza, Nexon, Venue and Sonet. 

  • A variety of features have been added to the new Brezza for the benefit of customers. The electric sunroof and the 360-view camera are the latest additions to the new Brezza

The top criteria for buying SUVs in 2016 and 2017 were design, brand reputation, price and mileage. Over the last two years, two big criteria have been added – technology and features. “Customers have changed a bit and are more aspirational and this is what we wanted to bring into the new Brezza. We added a lot of features. Bookings have crossed the 50,000 mark which is a good sign. Hopefully, we will get more volume and market share,” says Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Director, Sales and Marketing, Maruti Suzuki.

The company is making every effort to reduce the waiting period for deliveries. Currently, production is 10,000 per month and there are plans to increase the capacity. The investment involved in the new Brezza was Rs760 crore. The carmaker enjoys a market share of 67 per cent in the non-SUV segment. “If we want to get past 50 per cent market share, we need to have higher segment SUVs. One of the big segments we are looking at is mid-SUVs.  Currently, we have Kia Seltos, Hyundai Creta, Tata Harrier and MG Hector in this segment. We will be shortly launching another car, a bigger SUV in the mid-size segment. This vehicle is bigger than the Creta.  Production will start in August but the vehicle will be launched in the third week of July. This will give us good volumes in the mid-size segment. Also, other categories of SUVs are emerging like lifestyle SUVs. We are planning to introduce this to strengthen our portfolio in that segment,” elaborates Srivastava.

The strong demand for the new Brezza and Maruti’s aggressive plans to enter new SUV segments will generate sales volumes to rapidly increase its market share.

Don't miss this

Corporate Report

How IRM Energy fuels growth, naturally

IRM Energy moves ahead with a clear vision towards transitioning to an energy-oriented company

Cover Feature

Air India 3.0: New wings

Irrespective of whether the final number is 470 or 840, Air India’s massive plane order is the best indication of its confident moves to reclaim its preeminent position in Indian skies

Special Report

How prepared are we to face El Nino

India gears up to tackle the heat wave and El Nino concerns which could spoil the rural party

Corporate Report

CapitaLand expands horizons

Singapore’s CapitaLand is looking to significantly enlarge its portfolio in India

E-MAGAZINE
Air India 3.0-new wings
One step forward two steps backward
Budget 2023
FROM THIS ISSUE

Corporate Report

Technology

Government

Government

Business Notes

Business Notes

Social Responsibility

Agriculture

The introduction of black pepper as an inter-crop in the sopari and coconut orchards, has enabled farmers to cultivate crops simultaneously

Skill Development

In 2020-21, the programme reached over 112,482 girls in urban and rural locations across six states in India, including 10,000 across Delhi

Collaboration

The event brought together stakeholders and changemakers to participate in a series of conversations on global trends and recent developments

Healthcare

The programme will focus on educating children on oral health and building awareness around the dangers of tobacco use

Climate Change

Energy

Energy transition could attract $25 billion investment

Published on March 30, 2023, 11:01 a.m.

Despite global slowdown, investment interest in the Indian energy transition sector swelled in 2022

Government and Policy

Sri Lanka, India to sign MoU in RE

Published on March 30, 2023, 10:43 a.m.

Sri Lankan Cabinet has given approval for an MoU on the cooperation in the field of renewable energy between the two countries

Investment

IRENA calls for quadrupling of investments

Published on March 30, 2023, 10:21 a.m.

The world needs around $35 trillion for transition technology by 2030

Conservation

Can animals keep earth cool?

Published on March 30, 2023, 10:03 a.m.

Is it time to turn to beasts to save the earth?

  • About Us

  • Business India Publications is a leading media, information and communications company in India with some of the strongest brand names in magazine publishing.

2020 All Rights Reserved