We have confirmed news from the states of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Karnataka that every other car except for the Grand Vitara is being subjected to being pushed behind the line. Maruti is still grappling for semiconductors chips and whatever it is getting seems to go for the new Grand Vitara. Desperate attempt to seize the mid-size SUV segment from the Koreans, Japanese, and Europeans after coming late to the segment by almost 6 years. Maruti Baleno, Dzire, and even the Ertiga are facing the heat as buyers are not supposed to expect their cars soon. However, if they book the GV instead, they should see their cars delivered in a month or two said multiple dealerships in the aforementioned states.
Maruti does not want to be a hapless victim by getting the product right and not delivering it. Expecting 1 lakh bookings for the SUV around launch, it reached half of it, of 50,000 bookings at launch. Toyota, meanwhile, made no claims whatsoever for the similar car it made in the JV, the Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder. Maruti has been losing market share over the past half-decade. A slew of launches in the year 2022 is trying to help gain it back. Maruti claims they should deliver 2 lakh units by the end of 2023. Before that, it is going to be a big stretch to reach 1.2 or 1.3 lakhs units a year. There is also news that Vitara is also being prioritized over other cars in the portfolio, but we cannot confirm that story.
This also shows Maruti is pushing more deliveries out of Nexa instead of the Arena showrooms to show its premium image which diminished before Nexa stepped in and saved it in the top-tier urban markets. With supply chains grappling even today and regulations being slapped on manufacturers every other week, Maruti is under pressure in various ways, which includes getting an electric vehicle out where it continues to lose to Tata Motors and probably Mahindra as well till it comes with an EV. These two giants might have a significant market share that Maruti will find hard to take back to maintain its position as the leader in the market in all segments.
