[1/3] Hisashi Takeuchi, MD & CEO of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. and Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing and Sales of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., pose after the launch of multi-purpose vehicle Invicto in Gurugram, India, July 5, 2023. REUTERS/Sunil KatariaNEW DELHI, July 5 (Reuters) - Maruti Suzuki, India's biggest automaker, is looking to break into the premium car segment with its new seven seater, as a growing number of buyers opt for bigger, feature-packed cars. Maruti, known for small and compact cars that are mostly priced below 1 million rupees ($12,000), on Wednesday launched the Invicto seven seater with a hybrid powertrain starting from around 2.5 million rupees ($30,000). Maruti, majority owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor (7269.T), made its name as a mass market car brand offering affordable prices and low maintenance costs. When it comes to premium cars, or those typically priced above 2 million rupees, buyers tend to turn to the likes of Toyota Motor (7203.T) or Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), say analysts.

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Persons: Hisashi Takeuchi, Shashank Srivastava, Sunil Kataria, Maruti Suzuki, Takeuchi, Japan's Suzuki, Srivastava, Aditi Shah, Mark Potter Organizations: Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, REUTERS, Maruti, India's, Wednesday, Japan's, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen, Thomson Locations: Gurugram, India, DELHI