Informist, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025

NEW DELHI – Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. Wednesday expanded its presence in the mid-sized sport utility vehicle space with the launch of Victoris. "Victoris is being introduced as the flagship model in our Arena channel," Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Hisashi Takeuchi said at the launch event in Gurugram.

Apart from the Victoris, the e Vitara is the other new sport utility vehicle from Maruti Suzuki's stable which will hit the Indian roads in the ongoing financial year. The e Vitara was unveiled at the Bharat Mobility Expo 2024.

The latest all-new model Victoris will have six airbags across variants. It has received 5-star safety rating from Bharat NCAP or Bharat New Car Safety Assessment Programme. Among other features, Victoris will have internet connectivity and level 2 Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. The car will be exported to over 100 countries, the company said.

Victoris will have a concealed, underbody 55 litre-compressed natural gas tank, made using patented technology. The Victoris will come in three powertrain options -- a Strong Hybrid offering electric charging capacity, an all-grip 4x4 variant, and a 1.5 litre petrol engine with Smart Hybrid.

"The development cost is INR 1,240 crore (INR 12.4 billion) and volume, we are expecting big volume. By the way, this car will be produced by our newly established factory in Kharkhoda. So, the development cost does not include our investment into this plant," Takeuchi said. Around 97-98% of the parts used in this model are localised, another executive said on the sidelines.

Pricing of Victoris will be revealed at a later date, the company said. However, it will be within the range of models sold at Arena dealerships, a company executive told reporters on the sidelines of the event. The highest priced model at Maruti Suzuki's Arena showrooms currently is the Brezza, prices of which run up to INR 1.4 million.

Maruti Suzuki's current line-up of utility vehicles includes Brezza, Ertiga, Fronx, Grand Vitara, Invicto, Jimny, and XL6.

The company stressed on the fact that Victoris has been designed keeping the younger generation in mind. This, the company said, is a key reason why the model will be sold via its Arena showrooms, and not the Nexa showrooms which offer more premium options such as the Grand Vitara. The company said it only has one product in the mid-SUV segment in the Nexa segment, which is the Grand Vitara, and a counterpart is missing in the Arena segment. "I don't think it will cannibalise our Grand Vitara, it's different...channel is different. So that is here to compete with all other SUVs in the market," Takeuchi said.

The car will be available in 10 colour options, including three dual tone and seven monotone options.

Maruti Suzuki sold 131,728 passenger vehicles in India in August, down over 8% on year and nearly 5% on month. Sales of utility vehicles which contribute over 40% to Maruti Suzuki's domestic passenger vehicle sales, fell nearly 14% on year but grew 2% on month to 54,043 units. This was the third consecutive fall in its utility vehicles' despatches. The company said it was a conscious call on their end to hold back deliveries of bigger cars to the dealerships. "So the dealers also were very happy to take the dispatches of the small cars because they want to stock it for the festival season. And we were not pushing the vehicles, the big vehicles," the company told reporters earlier this week.

At 1445 IST, shares of Maruti Suzuki traded at INR 14,936 on the National Stock Exchange, up 0.6%. End

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Reported by Shakshi Jain and Anand JC

Edited by Vandana Hingorani

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