Maruti Ertiga BEATS the Toyota Innova Crysta & Mahindra Marazzo in January 2019

The all-new, 2nd generation Maruti Ertiga has beaten the Toyota Innova Crysta and the Mahindra Marazzo MPVs in  January 2019 sales. The new Ertiga logged 6,353 unit sales while the Innova Crysta was right behind at 6,253 units.  The Mahindra Marazzo followed at a distant third with 3,504 units sold in the same period. Interestingly, the Ertiga  lost nearly 11 % in terms of month on month sales while the Innova Crysta lost about 4 % in sales in the same period. The Mahindra Marazzo though gained nearly 9 % of sales.

The new Maruti Ertiga and Toyota Innova Crysta seem locked in battle and the new MPV from Maruti has its task cut  out. The big Toyota is giving up without a fight, and the Ertiga will really have to pull out every trick in the book  to stay ahead of the former. Notably, prices of the new Maruti Ertiga start from Rs. 7.44 lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi,  while those of the Innova Crysta start from Rs. 14.83 lakhs. Clearly, the Innova rysta is priced almost double as  much as the Ertiga but is still managing to run the latter very close in terms of sales.

This is an extremely creditable performance by the Innova considering the fact that it’s more than 2 years old in the  Indian market compared to the very new Ertiga. Age isn’t really deterring buyers from the Toyota MPV, and it’s quite  clear from the sales numbers. Both personal car buyers and cab operators are opting for the Innova Crysta in a big  way thanks to the MPV’s various strengths. It’s large and spacious, extremely comfortable, super reliable, feature-  packed and also has low maintenance costs. These factors are driving sales very strongly despite the high asking  price.

As for the new Maruti Ertiga, the MPV is a big improvement over the previous generation model in almost all respects. The new Ertiga sits on the light weight HEARTECT platform, which has ensured that the MPV is lighter than the previous generation model despite being larger. The larger dimensions have allowed designers to create more room for passengers. The cabin is now plusher and equipped with more features. The new Ertiga is offered with mild hybrid petrol and turbo diesel engines. The petrol motor is a 1.5 liter K-Series unit that is more powerful than the older 1.4 liter unit while the diesel is the same 1.3 liter Fiat Multijet mill with 89 Bhp-200 Nm on tap.

Coming to the Mahindra Marazzo, the MPV is selling steadily for the brand. Prices of the Marazzo start from Rs. 9.99  lakhs, which sandwiches the MPV between the Ertiga and Innova. The Marazzo was launched in the middle of last year, and the MPV is available with a single 1.5 liter diesel engine option along with a 6 speed manual gearbox. Mahindra will introduce a turbocharged petrol engine to the MPV’s line up early next year, and will also add an AMT option. These changes are expected to push Marazzo sales higher. All in all, the MPV segment is witnessing some stiff competition.