2 things Vitara Brezza's 2 lakh bookings tell us

The Vitara Brezza’s record booking number isn’t surprising, but is rather indicative of some trends.

Maruti Suzuki was quite late to enter the compact SUV game, but its arrival has proven to be quite a nightmare for rivals like the Ford EcoSport and the Mahindra TUV300. Introduced in March 2016 at prices of Rs 6.99-9.68 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), the Vitara Brezza has managed to record two lakh bookings in a span of less than a year.

While the number is certainly impressive, it isn’t surprising as Maruti hit one lakh bookings by July 2016. The Vitara Brezza still continues to average over 9,000 sales every month. However, interestingly, it is indicative of two trends:

Diesels aren’t dead

Last year was quite eventful for diesel carmakers and owners alike. While the Delhi diesel car sales ban was limited to cars with engines displacing 2,000cc or above, it led to a nationwide anti-diesel sentiment. Many buyers, concerned over potential restrictions being levied on the usage and sale of diesel cars in the future, opted to avoid buying cars powered by the fuel.

However, the Vitara Brezza is available only with a 1.3-litre diesel engine and continues to be one of the brand’s best-sellers. The same diesel engine also powers the Ciaz, Ertiga and S-Cross and while the 90PS/200Nm unit is no enthusiast pleaser, it’s very usable in the city and offers a decent claimed fuel economy of 24.3kmpl.

Buyers love customization

Car buyers these days love personalizing their machines to their taste, which is why Maruti introduced the iCreate customization kits with the Vitara Brezza. The brand first struck a chord by offering dual-tone exterior colours with the ZDI+ grade, and by providing a wide range of accessory options, Maruti Suzuki gave its customers a chance to make their Vitara Brezzas unique in one way or the other. Additionally, personalisation kits helped the carmaker target younger buyers; something it’s trying to do with the Ignis as well.

Prices for the Vitara Brezza currently range between Rs 7.19-9.88 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). Petrol or automatic variants of the sub-four metre SUV haven’t been introduced yet, but if/when launched, the Vitara Brezza will be able to target the market space it has missed out on so far.

Source: CarDekho.com