By Maruti Suzuki is celebrating a significant milestone with the Fronx SUV, as it has achieved the fastest 1 lakh sales in just 10 months since its launch in India. Even though sales are really good, Maruti Suzuki wants to improve the reach of the turbo version. Currently, the Fronx has three engine choices: a 1.2-litre petrol, a bi-fuel CNG, and a 1.0-litre direct-injection turbo petrol (GDI). Surprisingly, the turbo variant contributes only 7 per cent of total sales, trailing behind the CNG variant at 16 per cent and the standard 1.2-litre petrol engine dominates the majority.
The company having invested in localizing the GDI engine, aims to increase the turbo variant’s market share. Shashank Srivastava, the company’s senior executive officer for Marketing & Sales, expressed the desire to see higher turbo sales. Initial projections targeted 25 to 30 per cent, but customer sensitivity to the turbo’s additional features may affect these figures. Srivastava noted that some customers value the turbo engine but do not prioritize certain features like the Head-Up Display (HUD) or a 360-degree camera.
In response to the market dynamics, Maruti Suzuki is planning to make changes to the variants. The company is considering offering lower-spec versions of the turbo variant to cater to a wider customer base. The company is planning to introduce the turbo petrol engine in other models as they want to increase the overall sales. We are expecting the Indo-Japanese manufacturer to add the turbo petrol variant in Baleno as the company had earlier offered it in the RS variant and a manual gearbox is also expected.
