It seems that Maruti Suzuki is in no mood to adopt an ostrich strategy against the detrimental situations that have shaken the base of India's largest car manufacturer. Various desperate steps have been incorporated to offset the ill-effects of low demand and malfunctioning production.
Recently, the company decided to foray into the sub-800cc segment to further intensify its quest for survival. Two cars that are a part of this segment, which are currently sold in Japan, will be revealed during the highly anticipated Delhi Auto Expo in January, to analyse the customers' reaction.
Known as Palette and MR Wagon, both cars are assimilated with the parent Suzuki’s smallest engine till date. After scanning the valuable feedback at the expo, a production version of either one or both the small vehicles would hit the Indian roads by the next two to three years, sources close to the developments stated.
Albeit both the compact models are backed by the strength of 660cc petrol engines, the company is escaping any sort of confrontation with the world’s most frugal car, the Tata Nano. As a matter of fact, Nano wears a price tag of Rs. 1.53 lacs and carries a 624cc engine. The price disparity between the base variant of Tata Nano and the 800cc engine-powered Maruti Alto stands at Rs. 1.43 lacs.
The new small cars will offer more interior room, owing to the fact that they stand much taller as compared to the Alto 800. Moreover, the exclusive features affixed to the two cars will be unwrapped by the company after some time.
It is believed that this move by Maruti is aimed at providing much needed grip to its market share, which is sliding down constantly. The market share has faltered by seven per cent, reaching 38 per cent till October 2011, as against 45 per cent in the same time period last year.
The country’s largest car maker is also expected to conjure host of new vehicles in the market, along with a multi utility vehicle (MUV) in the coming time. The still-to-be-named MUV offers a seating capacity of up to seven passengers. The MUV has been given rise by Maruti’s India-based engineers, in association with Suzuki’s research and development department.
Sources close to the development confirmed that the vehicle is all-set to compete in the local markets by March 2012 and will likely be exported by Maruti over a period of time.
A compact sport utility vehicle (SUV) too, would feature in the list of upcoming introductions by Maruti; a concept model of which is gearing up for launch in January, at the New Delhi Auto Expo. The production version of the SUV is expected to enter into the market later.
The company’s Managing Executive Officer, Marketing and Sales, Mayank Pareek, said “As the market gets more competitive, we have to gear up for the new dynamics. We are thus showing the best we can offer. The new models like the Kei cars and the SUV, MPV and MUV will prove to the world that we are future-ready. We need to get first-hand feedback for this.”
Thus, Maruti Suzuki is turning every stone in order to regain lost grounds and resurrect the company's image that has been dented by unfavourable forces.
