MAM
Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara continues to “Rule Every Road”
Mumbai: Maruti Suzuki India Ltd is delighted to announce Grand Vitara’s new benchmark in the SUV space, crossing the 2-lakh sales milestone in just 23 months. This remarkable achievement makes it the fastest mid-size SUV to reach this milestone in a record time and underscores Grand Vitara’s immense popularity.
Embodying NEXA’s ‘Create. Inspire.’ philosophy, the Grand Vitara is a multi-product offering that has made its mark in the country’s SUV segment. Launched in 2022, it has pioneered a new era of SUVs, combining fuel-efficient powertrains with segment-leading features, a strong road presence, and sophisticated interiors.
Celebrating this record-breaking milestone, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd senior executive officer, marketing & sales Partho Banerjee said, “The introduction of the Grand Vitara has been pivotal for us in the SUV segment. This dynamic vehicle has truly demonstrated its excellence by becoming India’s fastest mid-SUV to surpass 2 lakh sales in just 23 months. The Grand Vitara has revolutionised its segment by inspiring customers to make sustainable choices with the Strong Hybrid. The ALLGRIP technology has also resonated well with SUV lovers, furthering our endeavour to promote clean mobility solutions along with an adventurous driving experience. This indeed underscores Grand Vitara’s philosophy of ruling every road.”
He added, “With a market share of 12 per cent in Q1 FY24, the Grand Vitara has not only established our credentials in the hyperactive mid-SUV segment but has also played a crucial role in growing the segment. We are deeply grateful to our community of over 2 lakh customers and are confident this SUV will continue to bring the joy of mobility to many more.”
Maruti Suzuki has taken a leading role in embracing green fuel and hybrid technology, marking a significant stride towards sustainable automotive solutions. The Grand Vitara exemplifies this commitment with its innovative powertrain options, including the Strong Hybrid and the S-CNG technology. These technologies not only offer high fuel efficiency but also contribute to reducing carbon emissions, further emphasizing Maruti Suzuki’s dedication to clean mobility. These advancements are crucial as India moves towards cleaner, more sustainable automobile solutions.
To highlight the capabilities of its Strong Hybrid Technology, Maruti Suzuki launched an impactful and compelling campaign – “IT’S UNBELIEVABLE. IT’S STRONG HYBRID” in Q1 FY24. The campaign stems from a simple yet powerful thought – Maruti Suzuki’s Strong Hybrid Technology has extraordinary real-world benefits that are very relevant for today’s ever-evolving customers. A standout feature of the campaign was a remarkable journey of over 1200 km that one can fulfil in a full tank*, that too with lower emissions, demonstrating the efficiency and performance of the Grand Vitara’s Strong Hybrid Technology. The campaign also demonstrated how Maruti Suzuki’s Strong Hybrid technology combines dual power sources – an Internal Combustion Engine and an Electric Motors, that is powered by Lithium-ion battery. With the ability to be 60 per cent on EV mode, the technology delivers an eco-friendly and remarkably silent drive experience.
Engineered to dominate every road, the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara has strongly resonated with its customers on account of its exciting performance, distinctive style, commanding presence, and multiple powertrain options. The legendary Suzuki ALLGRIP SELECT technology further encourages customers to wander off the beaten path and explore remote destinations with confidence and ease. The Grand Vitara also boasts a host of premium features such as a 22.86cm (9”) Smart Play Pro+ entertainment system, Head Up Display, 360 View Camera, Wireless Charging Dock, panoramic sunroof, ventilated seats, Clarion® Premium Sound System, PM 2.5 Air Cabin Filter and more, making this mid-size SUV the ideal choice for discerning customers. And its latest benchmark of 2 Lakh unit sales is a strong testament to the same.
Elevating the safety bar, the Grand Vitara is equipped with an array of active and passive safety features, including a Type Pressure Monitoring System and the newly introduced Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS) in its Strong Hybrid variant, and is the only premium CNG SUV to offer a 6-airbag variant for customers.
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Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
