Maruti Suzuki India limited, the country's largest passenger car maker, is believed to launch the most awaited car of the year, the 'Alto 800' somewhere after the second week of October 2012. It has been revealed that the company has been working hard 24x7 towards recuperating for the lost sales and revenues due to the month long in-operation of its Manesar facility.
The yet-to-be launched car is expected to ignite the vehicle sales for the company, which have been dropping profusely due to the prevalent market gloom and slackening automotive sales in the domestic domain. Further, the ever increasing fuel prices and high vehicle finance rates have added to most of the Indian auto firms' miseries by keeping the domestic buyers away from their stores.
However, no other company knows the Indian passenger car market better than MSIL, which has over the years cemented its dignified and consumer friendly repertoire among the domestic buyers. The introduction of Alto 800 small car before the season festivities, can be termed as MSIL's present to the Indian car enthusiasts for the auspicious Diwali celebration.
Reportedly, the Alto small car had been MSIL's best selling product in the Indian car market for eight years running, until 2012 when Maruti Suzuki Swift hatch displaced it off its top position. The upcoming car is expected to feature refined interior and exterior attributes and carries the massive burden of filling-in the shoes of MSIL's iconic 800 model, which remained the company's best selling product till 2004. Ironically, it was Alto only that snatched the 'Best selling' title from the hands of the legendary Maruti Suzuki 800 car.
Industry experts believe that MSIL will launch the new Alto 800 in two different variants, with one being a petrol-run, while the other will come in a dual fuel petrol-CNG guise. The Indian festival period has always been a big earner for the auto firms operating in the country, specially MSIL and the company is aspiring to repeat its previous feats with the upcoming 2012 Alto 800.
According to sources, MSIL has invested some Rs. 2.7 billion towards the development and implementation of the Alto 800 project. Further, the yet-to-be launched vehicle from the stables of MSIL will boast of a fuel economy better than the present generation Alto, by at least 15 per cent, besides being available at a lesser price tag. Accordingly, the CNG option availability could come in handy for luring the domestic car buyers towards the showrooms of Maruti Suzuki.
Reportedly, MSIL has already crafted its expansion plans in the other high potential auto markets, in order to increase its global footprint. The company is believed to mark its presence in the entry-level small car markets of Latin American and African countries, by exporting its upcoming 2012 Alto 800. Further, MSIL has recorded sales of more than 2 million units of its small car Alto and has exported around 2.75 lac units of the car, following its launch during September 2000, in the Indian car market.
MSIL is anticipating a good response from the Indian audience towards the new Alto 800 and considering its rich legacy and heritage, the company might just prove why it is called the undisputed champion of domestic auto market.
