Rugged SUVs are new love of carmakers

Tough, rugged and dominating SUVs are the new love of the car makers at the Auto Expo 2016.

Maruti, Hyundai, Tata, Honda and Toyota — key players in hatchback and sedans — are showcasing their new SUVs and UVs. Sub-compact, compact and full-fleged all types of SUVs are being rolled out to attract the new age customer who has taken a liking for the utility vehicles.

Jeep, which is participating in Auto Expo for the first time, unveiled three SUVs — Wrangler Unlimited, Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee SRT — which will be available in mid of 2016 in India.

“The SUV segment witnessed a robust growth of 22 per cent over the last five years in India and we expect it to grow exponentially in the future, creating the perfect environment for the legendary Jeep brand,” said Kevin Flynn, president and MD of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

Maruti Suzuki, who was the first company to showcase its product at the Auto Expo 2016 chose to unveil its new compact SUV Vitara Brezza on Wednesday. It is the first sub-4 metre SUV from Maruti. “The segment is growing at 30 per cent CAGR and we wanted to be part of this segment that is why we launched Vitara Brezza,” said Maruti Suzuki India executive director (R&D) C. V Raman. He said that a lot of people are upgrading from hatchback to SUVs.

Hyundai Motor unveiled its full fledged new global SUV Tucson at the Auto Expo. It will place the new SUV between its lowend SUV Creta and highend SUV Santa Fe. It is also show casing HND-14, a sub 4 meter compact concept SUV.

Tata Motors, which showcased a large number of vehicles at the Auto Expo also unveiled two SUVs —production ready premium SUV HEXA and compact SUV Nexon.

Honda unveiled its crossover UV Honda BR-V. It has been developed exclusively for the Asian market by Honda R&D Asia Pacific.