Maruti Udyog Ltd launched its sports utility vehicle Grand Vitara on Thursday at a starting price of Rs 13.8 lakh or Rs 1.38 million (ex-showroom) in Delhi.

The company has launched two variants of the SUV -- manual transmission and automatic transmission. The automatic transmission variant will be available for Rs 14.8 lakh or Rs 1.4 million (ex- showroom price Delhi).

"India is very important and evolving market for Suzuki. We believe that we have to diversify our product line to meet rapidly changing customer demands. The launch of Grand Vitara is a step in this direction," MUL Chairman S Nakanishi told reporter.

The SUV would be imported in India from Suzuki's plant in Japan. This is the company's third global launch in India after the premium hatchback Swift and Sedan SX-4.

On the issue of rising interest rates, MUL Managing Director Jagdish Khattar said: "Interest rate effect has not peaked out and it is still impacting sales."