This MPV dominated Indian car market in August, beat all SUVs from Creta to Brezza & Nexon

In a market dominated by SUVs, there is one MPV that has carved out a niche for itself. A lot of you might think that we are talking about the Toyota Innova. Well, there is no doubt that the Toyota Innova is a very capable MPV. But right now we are talking about the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, which emerged as India's largest-selling car in August 2025.

While uncertainty and speculation around the new GST structure impacted vehicle sales last month, Maruti still sold 18,424 units of the Ertiga.

The Maruti Suzuki Ertiga beat the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Dzire, Maruti Suzuki Brezza, Hyundai Creta, Maruti Suzuki WagonR and Tata Nexon to take the number one position on the sales chart.

The Ertiga has been a consistent performer for Maruti. It was India's best-selling MPV in FY24 and FY25 at 1,49,757 units and 1,90,974 units, respectively.

Sector experts believe that the Ertiga has been able to achieve this consistency due to its affordability, practicality, and reliability.

Price and Competition

Among the rivals of the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga are the Kia Carens Clavis, and the Toyota Innova Crysta. The following are their prices (ex-showroom).

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga: Rs 9.11 lakh - Rs 13.40 lakh
Kia Carens Clavis: Rs 11.50 lakh - Rs 21.50 lakh
Toyota Innova Crysta: Rs 19.99 lakh - Rs 27.17 lakh

The Ertiga's lower entry price compared to the rivals has supported demand among large families and fleet buyers.

Features and Safety

The MPV comes with a SmartPlay Pro touchscreen infotainment unit with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, automatic climate control, rear AC vents, a multi-function steering wheel, and cruise control. Maruti Suzuki recently introduced six airbags as standard across all the variants of the Ertiga. Safety features also include electronic stability control, ABS with EBD, tyre pressure monitoring system, and hill hold assist.

Powertrain Options

The Ertiga uses Suzuki's ever-so-reliable 1.5-litre K-Series petrol engine, which develops 103PS of maximum power and 139Nm of peak torque. The transmission options include 5-speed MT and 6-speed AT. There is also a CNG option (88PS and 121Nm) with a 5-speed MT.

Claimed Mileage

In the MPV segment, mileage plays a crucial role as you have a lot of fleet operators driving the volumes. In this regard also, the Ertiga performs handsomely.

The claimed Ertiga mileage is 20.51kmpl in petrol MT, 20.30kmpl in petrol AT and 26.11kmpkg in CNG MT.

Market Entry

The Ertiga was first launched in India in April 2012, with the second generation introduced in November 2018 on Suzuki's Heartect platform.