Maruti goes for high-end buyers in India with Invicto SUV hybrid , its priciest yet

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., renowned for its small and affordable cars targeting the mass market, unveiled a hybrid model with a base price of 2.48 million rupees ($30,200) as it aims to make up ground in the premium segment.

India’s biggest carmaker introduced its seven-seater Invicto at an event in New Delhi on Wednesday. The vehicle, which includes features such as a panoramic sunroof, is based on the Innova Hycross, made by Maruti’s Japanese partner Toyota Motor Corp.

“We now see an opportunity in the 20 lakh rupee plus price bracket,” said Maruti’s senior executive officer for sales and marketing, Shashank Srivastava, adding that the automaker has been a market leader for cars priced under 10 lakh, which is 1 mil-lion rupees, “for decades.

“It’s important to note the rising affluence of customers,” he said.

Invicto marks a significant shift in Maruti’s strategy. Upon entering India in the 1980s, the automaker quickly gained a reputation for selling affordable cars after introducing the Maruti 800 — the first car for many Indians, including legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.

With the country’s middle-class rapidly expanding in recent decades, Maruti has lost market share to rivals that have lineups geared toward the rising demand for sport-utility vehicles and bigger cars. Hyundai Motor Co.’s local unit and Tata Motors Ltd. dominate the country’s SUV segment with their models Creta and Nexon.

Toshihiro Suzuki, president of parent Suzuki Motor Corp., has said that Maruti failed to sustain its 50 percent market share in In-dia due to the delay in launching SUVs. The company plans to roll out its first electric car — an SUV — in 2025 and focus on introduc-ing battery-powered options in the small-car segment.

Suzuki intends to invest about 2.8 trillion rupees by the end of the decade to strengthen products, bring in technologies and set up new facilities in India, Maruti Chief Executive Officer Hisashi Takeuchi said Wednesday. Maruti aims to introduce six EVs by fiscal year 2031 across different vehicle classes, he said.