Maruti Suzuki India plans to expand its small-format premium retail chain NEXA Studio to between 600 and 700 outlets by FY31, as the country’s largest carmaker seeks to strengthen its presence in smaller towns and non-urban markets.
According to PTI, the company recently inaugurated its 200th NEXA Studio outlet at Kharkhoda.
Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing and Sales at Maruti Suzuki India, said the format has been expanding rapidly across the country. “In the last 18 months, almost every third day we have opened one NEXA Studio outlet across the country,” Banerjee said.
He said the concept was introduced to extend the premium buying experience of the NEXA channel to smaller towns where demand for higher-end vehicles is rising.
Currently, NEXA Studio contributes about 8–10 per cent of total NEXA sales. The company expects the share to increase to around 25–30 per cent by FY31 as the network expands.
Overall, the NEXA channel accounts for around 40 per cent of Maruti Suzuki’s domestic vehicle sales, with the remainder coming from its mass-market retail chain Arena.
Despite being smaller in size, NEXA Studio outlets offer the same premium experience as full-format NEXA dealerships in major cities, including integrated sales, service and spare parts facilities. The outlets are also equipped with EV charging infrastructure as the company prepares to expand electric mobility into smaller markets.
Maruti Suzuki recently introduced its first electric vehicle in India, the Maruti Suzuki e VITARA. Banerjee said the model is receiving strong interest from customers, with the company getting around 2,000–2,500 enquiries per day.
However, production will initially remain limited to around 2,000 units per month until July as the company balances production across models to maintain similar waiting periods.
