Maruti further strengthens SUV line-up, eyes mid-size segment dominance with new Victoris

The new Maruti Suzuki Victoris has scored a 5-star safety rating at Bharat NCAP.

Maruti Suzuki India further strengthened its sport utility vehicle (SUV) line-up with the introduction of the new Victoris, which will give a boost to the carmaker's mid-size portfolio along with the popular Grand Vitara.

The country's largest carmaker now offers five SUVs -- Fronx, Brezza, Jimny, Grand Vitara and Victoris. While the Fronx, Brezza and Jimny are sub-4 metre compact SUVs, the Grand Vitara and the Victoris are mid-size SUVs.

The rapidly expanding SUV segment in the world's third-largest passenger vehicle (PV) market is witnessing an influx of models across body sizes.

According to industry data, the SUV segment clocked handsome volumes of 23,66,272 units in FY25, accounting for 54.3% of the total PV sales. At 6,09,516 units, the mid-size SUVs made up 25.8% of the SUV market and 14% of the total PV market.

The mid-size SUV segment is currently dominated by the Hyundai Creta, which registered its highest-ever annual sales of 1,94,871 units in FY25. It was followed by the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara (1,23,946 units), Kia Seltos (72,618 units), and Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder (60,388 units) during the fiscal.

The Victoris will be sold from Maruti's Arena dealerships, which also offer the Brezza. The Grand Vitara, Jimny and Fronx are sold from the company's Nexa dealerships.

While Maruti has opened bookings for the Victoris, the price has not been announced yet.

"The Victoris is being introduced as a flagship model in our Arena channel, in the mid-size SUV segment. It will further strengthen our presence in this segment, which is seeing strong customer interest," said Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director and CEO, Maruti Suzuki India, during the new model's unveiling.

"Over the past few years, we have taken a bold and strategic approach to expand our SUV portfolio, and the results are in front of you. We began by establishing a strong foundation in the entry-SUV segment with models like Brezza and Fronx," he added.

With a larger portfolio, the SUV segment's contribution to Maruti's total sales has grown from 8.9% in FY21 to nearly 28% in FY25.

The Victoris is one of the two SUVs Maruti had planned to launch this fiscal. The other is the carmaker's first electric vehicle (EV), the e Vitara. Just like the e Vitara, the Victoris will also be exported to more than 100 countries across the world.

"Very soon, we will begin exports of Victoris to over 100 countries, marking another significant milestone in our international growth strategy," Takeuchi said.

The Victoris is one of the most technologically advanced cars introduced in India to date by Maruti.

Confirming Moneycontrol's newsbreak, Takeuchi said that the Victoris is Maruti's first car on the road to get Level-2 ADAS with features like automatic emergency braking, blind spot warning and lane departure prevention.

The new SUV shares its powertrains with the Grand Vitara. Both SUVs come with naturally-aspirated petrol, dual-fuel (petrol + CNG) and strong hybrid powertrains.

"We are offering Victoris with multiple powertrain options, including strong hybrid and CNG. In fact, our engineers have intelligently modified the platform to accommodate the CNG tank under the body, allowing more boot space," he noted. That the Victoris will have an underbody CNG tank was another newsbreak by Moneycontrol.

Maruti started selling CNG cars in India in 2010. Till now, the company's CNG cars have come with the tank placed in the boot, which would leave passengers with little space for luggage.

As Maruti looks to sell over 7,00,000 CNG cars in India in FY26, the underbody CNG tank update is expected to play a significant role in attracting more buyers.

Rivals like Tata Motors and Hyundai Motor India have already introduced twin-CNG tank technology, which allows two smaller CNG tanks to be placed in the boot, instead of one bulky tank. The luggage space in the boot increases with two smaller cylinders.