Maruti Suzuki strengthens its grip on the made-in-India utility vehicle market with export of 77,716 units and a 47% market share. While the Fronx and five-door Jimny are its key growth drivers, the e-Vitara with 2,954 units has entered the Top 15 UV model list which comprises seven midsize SUVs, six compact SUVs, and two MPVs.
28 Sep 2025 | 3173 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
The export growth story for made-in-India Utility Vehicles (SUVs and MPVs) is looking good in the current fiscal. At 165,877 UVs dispatched to overseas markets between April-August 2025, the YoY increase is 22% and already 46% of FY2025’s record UV exports of 362,160 units.
Maruti Suzuki, India’s No. 1 ...
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The export growth story for made-in-India Utility Vehicles (SUVs and MPVs) is looking good in the current fiscal. At 165,877 UVs dispatched to overseas markets between April-August 2025, the YoY increase is 22% and already 46% of FY2025’s record UV exports of 362,160 units.
Maruti Suzuki, India’s No. 1 passenger vehicle exporter for the past four fiscals, has taken a strong lead in FY2026 with total shipments of 163,787 passenger vehicles, up 37% YoY. Of this, UVs account for 47% or – 77,716 units, up 37% YoY. The strong growth in UV exports can be attributed to demand emanating from Suzuki Motor Corp in Japan for the made-in-India Fronx and Jimny, the No. 1 and No. 2 exported SUVs in FY2025. Maruti Suzuki India has two other models in the Top 15 list – the Grand Vitara midsize SUV and the new e-Vitara whose first exports kicked off last month. Let’s take a quick look at each of the models in the Top 15 export UV list.
Maruti Fronx and Jimny command 35% of UV exports
As in FY2025, when it was the No. 1 export passenger vehicle model, the Maruti Fronx tops the chart in the first five months of FY2026. At 33,773 units in April-August 2025, YoY growth is 54%, which gives the compact SUV a 20% share of all UV exports. In the domestic market, the Fronx has sold 63,038 units and is the third best-selling UV for Maruti after the Ertiga and the Brezza.
The firm No. 2 made-in-India SUV in demand in export markets is the Maruti Jimny. In sharp contrast to its domestic market performance – 2,449 units in April-August 2025, down 39% YoY – the Jimny has clocked overseas shipments of 24,384 units, up 27% YoY. From November 2020, Maruti Suzuki had been producing the three-door Jimny exclusively for export to both left- and right-hand-drive markets in Africa and the Middle East from its mother plant in Gurgaon, Haryana. Three years later, in October 2023, three months after it launched the Jimny 5-Door 4WD SUV in the domestic market, the company began exporting it to Latin America, Middle East, and Africa and received a strong market response from Mexico, Australia and South Africa. The made-in-India Jimny 5-Door’s exports received a strong growth accelerator when on January 30, 2025, Suzuki Motor Corp unveiled the model in Japan as the ‘Nomade’ .
The Nissan Magnite, which was ranked fourth in FY2025, has moved up one rank with 19,853 units, up 328% YoY and reflects the strong export market demand coming its way. This could also be attributed to the made-in-Chennai Magnite SUV being awarded a 5-star crash test safety rating by the Global New Car Assessment Program (GNCAP). In July, the new Nissan Magnite (RHD) spec sold in India and South Africa was tested by GNCAP and received a top 5-star rating in adult safety and 3-star rating in child safety accumulating an overall 5-star safety rating for the passengers.
The Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder midsize SUV has also moved up one rank from FY2025 to fourth best-selling export UV now with 14,817 units, up 60% YoY. This is already 54% of its FY2025 total (27,623 units, up 59%). In the domestic market too, the Hyryder is witnessing strong demand – at 37,591 units, sales are up 48% YoY and at present (in FY2026) it is the second-best-selling model after the Innova (Hycross and Crysta) for Toyota India.
The Maruti Ertiga MPV, with 9,208 units and 24% growth, is the first of the two MPVs in this Top 14 export UVs list and takes fifth rank. In the domestic market, the Ertiga (81,120 units) is currently the best-selling UV model for India’s UV market leader.
The Volkswagen Taigun midsize SUV has seen exports of 6,686 units, down by 28% YoY (April-August 2024: 9,312 units), which gives it No. 6 rank.
The Grand Vitara, Maruti Suzuki’s first midsize SUV which has recently been joined by the new Victoris, is ranked No. 7 on the export UV scale with 6,645 units, down 28% and down one rank from FY2025. In the domestic market too, the GV’s sales are down – 31,295 units, down 31% YoY. The model recently completed three years since launch and has sold over 325,000 units in India.
The Honda Elevate midsize SUV, which was third highest-selling export UV in FY2025 (45,167 units) and Honda’s No. 1 export model ahead of the City sedan, is down to No. 8 in April-August 2025. The 6,303 units shipped overseas in the past five months are a sharp 64% YoY decline – 11,413 fewer units than a year ago. Domestic market sales of this midsize SUV at 7,086 units were down 17% YoY. The bulk of Elevate exports are to the Japanese market, where it is sold as the made-in-India WR-V. Expect the company to come up with a new strategy to revive demand for the model.
The Hyundai Alcazar is the first of the two Hyundai SUVs in the Top 15 export UV list. At 5,593 units, demand has risen 20% YoY, and gives the flagship Hyundai SUV ninth rank.
The Kia Sonet compact SUV, which was Kia India’s best-selling model in the domestic market in FY2025 and continues to be so in FY2026, sees a decline in export sales. The 5,054 units are down 3% YoY.
The Mahindra XUV 3XO compact SUV, which had entered the Top 15 UV export model chart for the first time in FY2025 (6,821 units) and was ranked No. 13, has moved up two ranks to be No. 11 with 4,615 units, up 447% on a low year-ago export base of 883 units.
While the Hyundai Venue compact SUV, with 3,641 units (down 33%), is ranked 12th, the Kia Carens MPV takes 13th position with 3,259 units, down 28% YoY.
The Maruti e-Vitara enters the Top 15 export UVs listing in its first month of overseas shipments. In August, Maruti Suzuki commenced exports of Suzuki’s first Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) when 2,954 units of the e-SUV were shipped from Pipavav Port in Gujarat to 12 European countries (the UK, Germany, Norway, France, Denmark, Switzerland, Netherlands, Sweden, Hungary, Iceland, Austria, and Belgium).
The start of exports of the e-Vitara, which is exclusively manufactured at Maruti Suzuki’s Gujarat manufacturing facility, marks a key milestone in Suzuki’s roadmap to establish India as the global production hub for this zero-emission SUV which is the Japanese carmaker’s Suzuki’s first global strategic BEV model. Meanwhile, Suzuki Motor Corp has announced that it plans to begin sales of the e-Vitara in Japan from January 16, 2026.
The Kia Seltos, with 2,747 units (down 11% YoY), is the third Kia model in the Top 15 list.
Vehicle category-wise, this Top 15 list contains six compact SUVs, seven midsize SUVs and two MPVs. OEM-wise, Maruti Suzuki has five models (Fronx, Jimny, Grand Vitara, Ertiga and the new e-Vitara), Kia has three (Sonet, Carens and Seltos) and Hyundai has two (Alcazar and Venue). Mahindra & Mahindra (XUV 3XO), Honda (Elevate), Nissan (Magnite), Toyota (Urban Cruiser Hyryder) and Volkswagen (Taigun) have one each.