The country’s top passenger vehicle maker Maruti Suzuki has reaped significant benefits after the relaunch of its SUV S-Cross in October 2017.

In its all-new avatar with premium looks and host of other features, S-Cross has helped Maruti not only increase the monthly sales but also strengthen company’s presence in the UV segment.

The average monthly sales of S-Cross were about 3,700 units in the last six months compared with sub-2,000 unit levels earlier.

“We captured the customer demands and addressed them in the new S-Cross. We are glad that customers have liked the all-new S-Cross that features a new fascia which is bold and aggressive. Not just a global design but S-Cross is also equipped with the green Smart Hybrid technology. It is the flagship model of Nexa channel,” RS Kalsi, Senior Executive Director, (Marketing and Sales), Maruti Suzuki India, told BusinessLine .

In 2017-18, S-Cross registered a 44.4 per cent growth in sales with 30,923 units compared with 21,417 units sold in 2016-17. Since the launch in August 2015, the company has sold over 76,400 units of S-Cross.

“S-Cross features best of sedan and a SUV in a single car. It looks like a SUV and drives like a sedan. The interiors have also been upgraded, a soft-touch dashboard and new-age technologies also complement the all-new S-Cross,” said a company official.

S-Cross is retailed through Maruti’s 316 NEXA outlets and the company expects the sales momentum to continue for S-Cross. With strong sales number of Vitara Brezza, Maruti’s other compact SUV, which has been maintaining monthly volumes of more than 11,000 units, and increased volumes of S-Cross have helped Maruti dislodge Mahindra & Mahindra as the top UV maker in the country in 2017-18.

Vitara Brezza’s sales grew 37 per cent at 148,162 units in FY18 against 108,640 units in FY17. In the UV segment, Maruti sold 253,759 units, which was higher than Mahindra’s volumes of 233,915 units during 2017-18.

“Maruti has been one of the major beneficiaries of consumer preference shift towards SUV, which they have capitalised by launching Vitara Brezza and also relaunching S-Cross last year,” said an auto analyst in a brokerage firm.

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