The Maruti Ertiga has driven past the 575,000 unit sales milestone in the Indian market. Launched on April 16, 2012, the Ertiga was the passenger vehicle market leader’s first crack at the MPV segment and has taken a little over eight years to achieve this number.

As per Autocar Professional’s statistics, the Ertiga’s best annual sales were in FY2020 with a total of 90,543 units sold (see table below). The Ertiga crossed the 275,000 units domestic sales mark in August 2016, and has taken more or less the same four-odd years to little more than double that number.

Shinzo Nakanishi, Maruti Suzuki India's then CEO, at the launch of the Ertiga on April 16, 2012. 

Between April 2012 and September 2020, the Ertiga has sold a total of 578,917 units with the fuel-wise split being 344,174 diesel variants, 225,310 petrol and 9,433 units of the recently launched CNG variant. This means the diesel-engined Ertiga accounted for 59.45% of total sales compared to 39% of petrol variants. As is known, Maruti Suzuki exited the diesel car segment mainly due to the huge costs of upgrading diesel engines  to be compliant with BS-VI emission norms that came into effect on April 1, 2020. 

Although it is early days for the CNG-powered Ertiga, it looks like the eco-friendly variant is making its presence felt. Of the total 27,788 Ertiga sold in Q2 FY2021 (July-September 2020), the CNG Ertiga accounted for 34% or 9,433 units. The Ertiga, at present, is the sole MPV in India which comes equipped with factory fitted CNG technology.

Commenting on the Ertiga sales milestone, Shashank Srivastava, executive director (Marketing & Sales), Maruti Suzuki India, said, “Over the years, brand Ertiga has redefined the notion of utilitarian MPVs with its sharp style, space, comfort, safety and host of technology features. As India’s first compact MPV, Ertiga continues to build a legacy of innovation. The remarkable milestone of 550,000 sales is a testimony of its success. While making a purchase decision, customers often cross-consider MPVs with UVs. Despite being cross-considered with top selling UVs in the country, the Ertiga has dominated the market and increased its market share in the segment.”

Powered by the 105hp, 1,462cc 1.5-litre K-series petrol engine, Smart Hybrid and AT technology, the Ertiga has carved a niche for itself.  The new Ertiga, which was Autocar India ’s Car of the Year 2019, benefits from clever packaging. Despite being a seven-seater, it is still compact in dimensions, and its light controls and good all-round visibility make it very user-friendly and easy to drive. The interiors are more spacious and feel plusher, and the well-cushioned seats take cabin comfort up a few notches. And the larger cabin and the backrest recline function helped make the third row far more usable than the earlier model.

On the safety front, the new  Ertiga gets features such as dual airbags, hill hold (AT only), ISOFIX, electronic stability program (AT only) and ABS with EBD. The Ertiga, which has been a consistent seller to the company’s sales  – averaging monthly sales of 7,236 units for the past 80 months – has been among the key contributors to Maruti Suzuki’s market share. In FY2012, the carmaker’s passenger vehicle market share had dropped to 38.4% in a total PV market of 26.18 lakh units. Eight years, 575,000 units sales later and some new high-selling siblings, Maruti Suzuki’s PV share is now at 49.35 percent.

Priced between Rs 849,000 to Rs 11.78 lakh (on-road Delhi), the new Ertiga has its act cut out in a market that's teeming with compact SUVs.