The continuously mounting waiting period of Maruti’s recently launched new generation premium hatchback Maruti Swift has now started showing alarming impact on the sales of the car in the Indian market. According to an estimate, the long waiting period of the car has forced about 2 to 4 percent prospective buyers of the Maruti Swift to cancel their bookings and switch to other cars of the segment. It is to be mentioned here that waiting period of the car has surged to 3 to 5 months for the petrol and 6 to 8 months for the diesel version in the country.
As per the dealer sources, more than 50 percent of the customers who have canceled the bookings of Maruti Swift, have opted for the rival brands like Honda Brio, Toyota Etios Liva, Ford Figo, Volkswagen Polo etc, the cars which are available for a comparatively less waiting period. However, about 1 to 2 percent buyers are claimed to have shifted to the Maruti Ritz, another popular compact hatchback in the Indian market.
Following the launch of new generation Swift in the Indian market on August 17th, the production at company’s Manesar plant remained partially halted for about 33 days during the first labor strike and about 13 days during the second strike.
However, looking at the huge booking figure of 1.2 lakh units, a cancelation of 2 to 4 percent does not look to be causing any panic among the company top brass. Moreover, the production is now resumed at full scale following the end of strike at Manesar. The waiting period of the car is expected to come down considerably in coming days.
