Maruti has long been the shorthand for leadership in Indian autos. But the centre of gravity is shifting. From dominating hatchbacks and sedans, the utility vehicle (UV) market has become the new battleground for passenger car makers.
And Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is going after it the same way Maruti once captured small car buyers.
From April to July 2024, Maruti was comfortably ahead of Mahindra in utility vehicles sales, with a gap of over 53,000 units. Fast forward to April-July 2025, and that gap has shrunk to 12,700 units. In July alone, M&M was just 2,900 units behind. The company is on the brink of reclaiming a crown it last held in FY17.
And now, almost a decade later, Mahindra is not just catching up. It is threatening to lead the pack again.
Portfolio Depth Beats One-Hit Wonders
What makes this catch-up more than a statistical fluke is the depth of Mahindra’s UV line-up.
From the rugged Thar to the practical Scorpio-N, the value-for-money Bolero and the premium-feel XUV700 and XUV 3XO, M&M has something for every kind of UV buyer.
None of these models is a runaway hit on its own.
However, together, they form a consistent sales engine. Scorpio volumes alone have more than quadrupled since FY22. The Thar is appealing to aspirational off-roaders, while the XUV 3XO has found favour with younger, city-first buyers.
In contrast, Maruti’s UV strategy still feels like a work in progress. SUV sales make up just around 27% of its total passenger vehicle volumes. For Mahindra, utility vehicles are not a sub-segment. They are the business.
The way Maruti became synonymous with hatchbacks, Mahindra now looks poised to be the name most buyers associate with SUVs.
What the Numbers Say
The numbers only strengthen the case.
Mahindra’s SUV volumes for the first four months of FY26 stand at 201,938 units, up 21.7% over last year. In July alone, it sold 49,871 units, marking a year-on-year increase of 19.8%.
Maruti’s UV sales over the same April to July2025 period are estimated at 214,641 units. In July, its UV volume was around 52,773 units, down 6% from last year.
This seems like a classic case of a laggard catching up while the incumbent slows down. In fact, Mahindra has gained 570 basis points of revenue market share in SUVs over the past year.
If you think about it, that kind of share gain is not cyclical. It is structural.
Mahindra’s Q1FY26 operating numbers back it up. The standalone auto Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin, excluding EVs, came in at 10%. For its farm segment, EBIT margin was 19.8%.
Maruti’s margin for the same period was 10.4%, under pressure from new plant costs and input inflation. While Maruti still has a clear cost advantage and unmatched scale, its SUV business is still playing catch-up.
Mahindra has already made that leap. Now it is all about whether it can stay there.
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Maruti’s big electric vehicle (EV) bet is the e-Vitara, expected sometime in FY26. That may help it enter the segment, but Mahindra is already…
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