SCOOP! Three-row Maruti Grand Vitara to challenge XUV700, Safari

Taking forward its SUV offensive, Maruti Suzuki has begun work on an all-new three-row SUV that will go on sale by 2025, and rival the popular Mahindra XUV700 and Tata Safari. Internally codenamed Maruti Y17, it will essentially be a three-row version of the Grand Vitara SUV that went on sale earlier this year. The Y17 is likely to have an export version, but it is yet to be ascertained if it will also get a Toyota version.

Maruti Y17 SUV to be built at new Kharkhoda plant
The standard Grand Vitara, along with its badge-engineered counterpart, the Toyota Hyryder, are built at Toyota’s plant in Bidadi. However, sources tell us that the three-row version of the SUV will be built at Maruti’s brand new plant in Kharkhoda, Haryana. This new plant will be operational by 2025, and this new SUV is expected to be the first model to be mass produced here. Maruti Suzuki has proposed to spend over Rs 7,000 crore during FY23 for the construction and commissioning of this plant.

The plant at Kharkhoda is expected to start production with 2,50,000 units per annum when fully operational. This will add to its Manesar and Gurugram manufacturing plants creating a combined capacity to produce two million cars for the brand per annum by 2028. According to people in the know, the company is preparing for an annual volume of over 1.2 lakh units for this SUV.

This will expand the portfolio of SUVs to over half a dozen for Maruti Suzuki and is likely to be the fourth new model from Maruti Suzuki above Rs 10 lakh – apart from Grand Vitara. The others are likely to be the Jimny, its version of the Innova Hycross and this three-row SUV. A larger part of its YTB coupe-SUV is also likely to be in Rs 10 lakh-15 lakh bracket, which has become the core of the Indian market in 2022.

Maruti Y17 SUV: what else is known?
Coming back to the three-row Grand Vitara (Y17), the SUV will sit on the same global C platform, similar to the standard version, but it is expected to have a slightly longer wheelbase to accommodate the third row. The SUV could get some styling tweaks to give it a more unique look and differentiate it from its two row sibling. It is also expected to get the same powertrain options as the two-row model and, to create an optimum third-row seating space, it may position the tank underneath.

Maruti's derivate of the Innova Hycross will be the first premium three-row model to launch in the coming months. Read more on that here.

Maruti Suzuki at Auto Expo 2023
While the three-row Y17 SUV is still some time away, Maruti Suzuki will have a sprawling line-up of multiple showcases at the upcoming Auto Expo 2023 that takes place in January. Read more on Maruti Suzuki’s Auto Expo plans here.