Drawing cues from the traditional Indian martial art of wrestling, Maruti Suzuki today unveiled the concept of a compact sport utility vehicle named XA Alpha.
On the opening day of the auto expo here, the car market leader showcased a lava red concept of the XA Alpha and said production would be based on customer and market feedback.
“We expect customer expectations to become more sophisticated. They will select the vehicle based on their personality and lifestyle,” said Mr Shinzo Nakanishi, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, explaining the rationale behind the concept SUV. The concept is the result of unified research and development efforts carried out by Suzuki Motor Company of Japan and Maruti Suzuki over nine months.
The theme of rugged living has been derived from Indian wrestling, said Mr I.V. Rao, Managing Executive Officer – Engineering, Maruti Suzuki. “We studied the body movements, stances and build-up of the performers (in wrestling),” he said. Since the last auto expo, Mr Nakanishi said, there had been dramatic changes in the car landscape. The compact car segment was at the centre of the action with a number of companies launching compact cars.
Maruti Suzuki had showcased the concept of a compact multi-purpose vehicle R3 at the last auto expo. It would be unveiling the actual vehicle, named Ertiga, based on that concept on Friday at the expo.
Mr Mayank Pareek, Managing Executive Officer – Marketing & Sales, said the utility vehicle segment accounted for almost 14 per cent of all passenger vehicles sold and Maruti Suzuki could not afford to not be present in that category.
The UV segment accounted for almost 3.5 lakh units a year, in total sales.
A number of vehicle manufacturers are either launching or planning to launch compact SUVs. Ford has unveiled a compact SUV named EcoSport, which will be launched in India later this year.
nramki@thehindu.co.in