Nexa, Maruti Suzuki India’s premium model sales channel which turned a decade old this month, has been a key driver of the passenger vehicle market leader’s growth. While the Baleno hatchback remains Nexa’s best-selling model with 1.67 million units and a 51% share, the Fronx compact SUV and the Grand Vitara have sold 673,549 units in two years for a 21% share. We reveal the movers and shakers of the Nexa portfolio. . .and also the laggards.
17 Aug 2025 | 8792 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
Earlier this month, Maruti Suzuki India launched the Grand Vitara Phantom Blaq Edition to celebrate 10 years of Nexa, its premium sales channel launched in FY2016. The company's wholesales data reveals that a total of 32,75,451 Nexa vehicles have been sold till end-July 2025, comprising 21,78,134 cars and 10,97,337 utility ...
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Earlier this month, Maruti Suzuki India launched the Grand Vitara Phantom Blaq Edition to celebrate 10 years of Nexa, its premium sales channel launched in FY2016. The company's wholesales data reveals that a total of 32,75,451 Nexa vehicles have been sold till end-July 2025, comprising 21,78,134 cars and 10,97,337 utility vehicles. While Nexa passenger cars, led by the Baleno, have a 66% share of overall Nexa sales of 3.27 million units, UVs (mainly SUVs) have a 34% share but more on that later.
Of the 17 passenger vehicle models in Maruti Suzuki’s large portfolio, eight are retailed through Nexa – two hatchbacks (Baleno and Ignis), one sedan (Ciaz), four SUVs (XL6, Grand Vitara, Fronx, Jimny) and one MPV (Invicto). Over the past decade, Nexa has contributed to 21% of Maruti Suzuki’s total passenger vehicle wholesales of 1,58,22,999 units or 15.82 million vehicles (see decadal data table below).
NEXA CARS: 2.17 MILLION UNITS, NEXA SUVs & MPVs: 1.09 MILLION UNITS
The three passenger car models (Baleno, Ignis and Ciaz) have sold a total of 2.17 million units, accounting for 20% of Maruti Suzuki’s 10.94 million passenger car sales since FY2016. The Baleno hit its best sales in FY2023 (202,901 units) but sales are down since then with FY2025 sales being 167,161 units. The Ignis’ best market performance also came the same year (59,852 units) but fell to 32,463 units in FY2024 and 2,438 units in FY2025. FY2018 was the Ciaz sedan’s best year with 58,913 units and FY2025 its lowest with 8,402 units.
In a market that has veered to UVs at the cost of hatchbacks and sedans and impacted all carmakers in India, Maruti Suzuki has benefitted from the launch of three SUVs (XL6, Grand Vitara, Fronx, Jimny) and two MPVs (XL6, Invicto) in the past four years with one (XL6) crossing 200,000 sales and two (Fronx and Grand Vitara) surpassing 300,000 units.
Nexa UV sales of 1.09 million units since FY2016 account for a 31% share of the total 3.50 million UVs Maruti Suzuki has sold over the past decade till July 2025. Of the 1.09 million Nexa UVs, 753,549 units have been sold in the past three-and-a-half years, thanks to demand for the Fronx and the Grand Vitara which are currently the top two best-selling Nexa SUVs.
A deep dive into Nexa model sales reveals that between FY2016 and the first four months of FY2026, the share of Nexa models of Maruti Suzuki’s passenger vehicle sales has risen from 5% in its first year to 28% in the current fiscal.
Nexa’s highest share was in FY2024, its best year as well as the carmaker’s best fiscal to date. At 561,050 units, Nexa sales rose 52% YoY to cross the half-a-million mark for the first time and contributed 32% to Maruti Suzuki’s PV sales of 1.75 million sales. FY2025, however, saw Nexa sales fall marginally by 3% YoY to 543,050 units and its share of Maruti Suzuki sales reduce to 31 percent.
In the ongoing FY2026, Nexa sales of 146,356 units are down 11%, their contribution to Maruti Suzuki’s PV sales (531,348 units, down 4.53% YoY) reducing to 28% from 29% in April-July 2024. A quick look at the eight Nexa model-wise wholesales reveals that seven of the eight models have seen their sales decline YoY in the past four months (see data table above). Sales of the top four models – Fronx, Baleno, Grand Vitara and XL6 – at a combined 134,239 units are down 9% YoY (April-July 2024: 148,134 units). Expect Maruti Suzuki to make the necessary moves to revive demand and capture sales in the upcoming festive season.
REVEALED: TOP 9 NEXA MODELS. . . BALENO TO INVICTO
Maruti Suzuki's Nexa stable currently has eight models, with the Nexa channel launch model (S-Cross) discontinued after seven years in the market. The oldest of the lot is the Baleno, launched in FY2016, followed by the Ignis (FY2017), Ciaz (FY2018), XL6 (FY2020), Grand Vitara (FY2023) and the Fronx, Jimny and Invicto (FY2024).
The stylish Baleno hatchback, launched in FY2016 and which raced past a million units in October 2021, has sold a total of 16,72,292 or 1.67 million units. This gives it a 51% share of Nexa sales to date (July 2025), which is also because of it being in the market for a decade. Sales have slowed down since FY2023.
The Fronx compact SUV has been a runaway hit for Maruti Suzuki. Launched in April 2023, the Fronx became the first Nexa SUV to surpass 300,000 sales in the domestic market in April 2025 – that’s just 23 months after launch. Till end-July 2025, it has clocked 351,982 units which gives it an 11% share of Nexa sales.
The third best-selling Nexa model is the Grand Vitara midsize SUV with 321,982 units and a 10% share of Nexa sales. Launched in September 2022, the Grand Vitara became the second Nexa SUV after the Fronx to drive past 300,000 sales. And, it was the fastest in the midsize SUV segment to do so. FY2025 (123,946 units) was its best year of sales to date.
The Ignis hatchback, launched in FY2017, is ranked fourth on the Nexa sales scale with 311,452 units and a 9.50% share of Nexa’s 3.27 million units.
The XL6, the heavily modified premium avatar of the Maruti Ertiga, is next with 217,508 units. In April this year, it became the third Nexa UV to clock 200,000 sales, five-and-a-half years after its launch in August 2019.
The Ciaz sedan, the only such model in Maruti Suzuki’s portfolio, has borne the brunt of the consumer shift to SUVs. With cumulative sales of 194,390 units since FY2018 when the model was shifted from the Maruti Arena channel to Nexa, the Ciaz has a 7% share of Nexa sales.
The S-Cross SUV, the first Nexa model which was discontinued in at the end of FY2023, is ranked seventh in the Nexa model portfolio with total sales of 169,011 units and a 5% share of the channel’s sales.
The Jimny SUV, which was launched with much fanfare in June, has not clicked in the domestic market. Only 27,575 units have been sold in India till end-July 2025 and compared to over 75,000 units in the export markets. As a result of overwhelming demand for the five-door made-in-India Jmny from Japan, where it is sold as the Suzuki Nomade, the Jimny clocked cumulative domestic and export sales of over 100,000 units in April 2025.
The Invicto MPV, launched in July 2023 to mark eight years of Nexa, is another model which has not clicked. Aimed to tap the market potential of the over-Rs 20 lakh price segment, the Invicto has sold just 9,674 units till end-July 2025 comprising 4,599 units in FY2024, 4,036 units in FY2025 and 1,039 units in April-July 2025.