Swift is the highest-selling modelOverall pending orders stand at 2 lakh units

Maruti is on a roll with its SUV range with the automaker having added three new vehicles of this body style to its kitty in the last 12 months. The move had been due from the automaker for a while and is expected to fuel their future growth, especially in urban centres. However, while city folk have taken well to high-riding vehicles, Maruti’s rural sales continue to be dominated by its non-SUV models.

From April to October of this year, Maruti sold 2.21 lakh hatchbacks, sedans and MPVs while SUV models had sales of 81500 units. This is a growth of 11 per cent in rural areas and 8 per cent in urban areas as compared to the corresponding period last year.

Higher demand for non-SUV models in rural areas could be attributed to quite a few factors, the top of which Maruti themselves say is due to the higher cost of entry-level cars affecting the conversion rate of first-time buyers. Another factor that could be playing into this is that Maruti does not have a diesel presence in the SUV space where oil burners still rule the roost, especially in the premium end. Currently, Hyundai, Kia and MG all have premium diesel-powered cars. However, this trend is expected to change and that’s indicative of the fact that Maruti’s small car share in rural areas fell by 5 per cent in the first two quarters of this financial year with a drop from 48 per cent to 43 per cent.

With diesel cars set to become even more expensive due to changing emission norms, this trend of investing in petrol, CNG, electric and biogas cars may pay off for Maruti Suzuki and fuel its SUV growth story in rural areas shortly.