Maruti Ertiga - Indian MPV

Maruti’s launch of the 7-Seater Ertiga in India earlier this month has been hailed as a great success, with more than 11,000 bookings for the multi-purpose vehicle secured in the first five days of the motor show. According to a Standard and Chartered report, the 7 seater will be a key driver for Maruti during the 2012-2013 fiscal period; although in bad news for the customer, waiting times have now shot up to five months.

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga pictured above.

The report said that the showrooms had over 200 orders in the first few days. It is no wonder that when ordering an Ertiga MPV in india, either petrol or diesel you'll have to wait approximately five months.

Value for Money MPV

It is believed by many that Ertiga has got off to such a good start because of its tempting value-for-money positioning in the seven-seater sector. "Maruti Suzuki has launched the Ertiga at an excellent price point between Rs 5,90,000 (£7,000 GBP and Rs 8,45,000 (£10,000 GBP),". Just to compare other Indian cars of the same ilk include the Mahindra’s Xylo, priced at Rs 10,47,000 (£12,145 GBP), and Toyota’s Innova, which goes for an eye-watering Rs 13,54,000 (£15,700 GBP).

Both petrol and diesel models are available for the Ertiga, although the petrol variants carry a discount of between 7,000 (£80 GBP) and 30,000 (£350 GBP) and the diesel versions boast the colossal waiting times. The diesel is 1.3 litre, while the petrol is a 1.4 litre K-series.

Fuel Efficiency

The Ertiga, described as Maruti as a Life Utility Vehicle (LUV), also has pretty decent fuel efficiency, with the diesel managing 20.8 km per litre (58.65mpg) and the petrol doing 16.02 km per litre (45 mpg). Despite these clear-cut stats, the price difference has seen diesel sales tip customer preference recently within the auto industry. This has prompted many carmakers, Maruti included, to offer such large discounts on the petrol versions.

Volume Drivers for Indian Automaker

Ertiga is set to become one of the key volume drivers for the Indian automaker this financial year, according to Standard Chartered. The hope that the lower demand for the petrol model, (probably due to fuel efficiency) will be offset with sales from other smaller Maruti/Suzuki cars such as the Swift and Dzire.

11,000 Ertiga Models Ordered

So it seems Maruti has hit all the right notes with its new 7 seater, with chief general manager of marketing Shashank Srivastava revealing that a massive 11,000 models were ordered in the first five days after the launch. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, he said the company had only planned for around 5,000 units per month, but that the production lines will be flexible and meet the demand.

Ertiga Competitive Pricing

Experts believe the great success is most likely down to the vehicle’s highly competitive pricing, which puts it miles away from any other vehicle in the compact LUV segment. However, Mahindra & Mahindra is expected to launch the Xylo sometime this fiscal year.

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga Interior

This car is not currently available in the United Kingdom but, and it’s a big but, I think Suzuki, (AKA Maruti) are missing a trick with the UK market. We love these MPV LUVs. We want more seats and they can give it to us for less money. Sounds like a winner. Cheap 7-Seater cars in the united Kingdom include the Kia Carens or Lodgy.