Maruti Suzuki To Launch New M800 ‘Uniq’

To strengthen its oldest popular model Maruti 800 (M800), India’s giant car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki is proposing to roll out ‘Maruti 800 Uniq’ in the Indian market.

The new Maruti 800 `Uniq` is an advanced version, which comes equipped with a range of new features including body graphics, all new beige upholstery, trendy door trims with fabric patch, smart lower console box, rear package tray, stylish dome decal to draw young consumers.

Customers have to pay an extra cost of Rs 5,200 on this new car, which is accessible in AC variants only, as compared to its regular M800 AC model of Rs 2,11,176.

The company has already dispatched its new offering nationwide, and will be available in company showrooms from August 4, 2008.

Maruti Suzuki has recently rolled out LPG variant of Maruti 800.

The company is expecting improvement in the sales of M800 with the launch of its new Maruti 800 Uniq.

Maruti Suzuki India Hikes The Price Of Their Cars

Maruti Suzuki India has announced the much anticipated price hike on their car models.

The company had to take this step to offset the rising cost of raw materials which makes it expensive for them to manufacture the cars.

The price hike is variable and range from around Rs. 1000 on Zen Estilo to Rs. 15000 on Maruti Swift Diesel.

They have however avoided raising the price of their Grand Vitara model which is struggling to sell in the Indian market.

They have also stopped selling the Swift DZiRE Diesel model at its introductory price.

Incidentally, the prices of car models were dropped after the budget announcement which gave the company tax benefits on small cars.

Source: http://business.techwhack.com/3747-maruti-price-hike

Maruti Launches Swift DZire For A3 Group

In a bid to strengthen its position in the A3 (sedan) segment, the country’s largest passenger car maker, Maruti Suzuki on Wednesday launched its new entry-level sedan, Swift Dzire. The introductory price at ex-showroom Delhi ranges from Rs 4.49 lakh to Rs 6.7 lakh.

The new offering is the seventh model Maruti Suzuki has introduced in the last 35 months, Shinzo Nakanishi, managing director of Maruti Suzuki India said.

The car comes both in diesel and petrol variants and is powered by the same G-series 1.3 litre engines that earlier powered the Maruti Esteem and at present sits under the bonnet of the Swift Hatchback.

The petrol variant will cost between Rs 4.49 to Rs 5.9 lakh and the diesel between Rs 5.39 to Rs 6.7 lakh.

It is being launched at a time when the company has managed to race past competition in the mid-sized sedan segment (A3) selling nearly 41,000 units in the April-February period of this fiscal.

While continuing to lead India’s small car market, Maruti Suzuki has emerged as the market leader in the A3 segment as well during 2007-08.

The company has sold a total of 41,800 units in the last 11 months (April-February 2008) in the domestic market. This is the highest number of cars for any manufacturer in the A3 segment, according to the recent industry results published by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

With the launch of Maruti’s new car, competition in the lower A3 segment, currently dominated by Mahindra Renault’s Logan and Tata Motors’ Indigo, is expected to hot up.

Tata Motors offers its lowest sedan model Indigo CS between Rs 3.66 lakh and Rs 4.34 lakh, and the Indigo XL going up to Rs 7.38 lakh. Logan petrol version starts at Rs 3.89 lakh and goes up to Rs 5.02 lakh, while that of diesel begins with Rs 5.72 lakh and going up to Rs 6.63 lakh.

Maruti Suzuki Signs Car Terminal Agreement With Mundra Port

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp, said it has signed an agreement with Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone Ltd (MPSEZL) for a mega car terminal at Mundra, in the western state of Gujarat.

Initially, the company will invest 400 mln rupees while MPSEZL will pump in 600 mln, it said in a regulatory filing.

The new terminal, where cars are parked and loaded onto carrier ships for export, is expected to be operational by December, and Maruti Suzuki will begin shipping from the Mundra Port by January next year.

Chief executive, S Nakanishi, said the initiative will help fill the gap between the company's export ambitions and 'on the ground' infrastructure support.

The country's biggest carmaker exported 50,000 units in fiscal 2007-08, a rise of 28 pct year-on-year, by using the port facilities in Mumbai. It expects to continue shipping from Mumbai as well, keeping in view its increasing export volumes.

At 01.55 pm local time, Maruti Suzuki shares were 2.77 pct lower at 784.80 rupees on the Bombay Stock Exchange, while the benchmark Sensex was 2.14 pct down at 17,689.31.

No Car Below Maruti 800: Maruti Suzuki

Maruti Suzuki India today denied reports of plans to launch a small car with a 660cc engine positioned below the Maruti 800 and priced at Rs 1.5 lakh.

According to a release issued by Maruti to the BSE today, "as announced earlier, the company has no plans to launch a car like the one mentioned in the report. The Project "Under A" mentioned in the report refers perhaps to the "A Under" - the earlier code name for the A-Star model.

"Maruti offered the first People's Car, Maruti 800, about 24 years ago. Since then, India's middle class and Maruti's customers have grown in every facet of their lives. Their incomes have gone up significantly. Their lifestyles have improved in ways that were hard to imagine a decade ago. Within the space of a generation, the "People" who bought "People's Cars" have transformed almost beyond recognition.

"With that, expectations from a car have evolved considerably. Car customers now generally settle for nothing less than contemporary styling, international quality and latest features that enhance their safety and convenience while expecting performance and fuel efficiency like their parents did before them.

"These changing preferences are reflected in the sales data for existing segments in the car market: models and variants that promise only economy and low acquisition cost are increasingly losing out to models and variants that are rich in features and style. The company find this trend holds true across segments including among entry level cars.

"In experience, the company's entry level car customers nurture a high degree of aspiration, both in new cars as well as pre-owned. They want more from their cars in terms of features, performance, safety and versatility.

"Maruti Suzuki has been able to notice and understand this transformation largely due to its close relationship with customers throughout the period of their car ownership.

"Suzuki and Maruti's approach of "World Strategic Models", which includes cars like Swift, SX4 and Grand Vitara, ensures that Indian customers get international quality and style at the same time as customers in markets like Europe and Japan. The success of these cars in the market has endorsed our view, and the company want to pursue this strategy with greater vigour in future.

"In future, the company plans to launch world strategic models like Splash and A-Star as part of the same conscious efforts to offer international quality and design to Indian customers at an attractive price.

"The company's view is that as Indian middle class families move up in life, they should continue to receive a range of cars from Maruti Suzuki that offer superior quality, international design and rich features. That is where its focus will lie.

"Maruti Suzuki reiterates that it has no plans of developing or offering a new car below the Maruti 800."

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/

Geneva Preview: Suzuki To Show A-Star

Suzuki is to show its A-Star city car concept at the Geneva Motor Show in early March.

The A-Star, to be built in India in partnership with local manufacturer Maruti, made its debut recently at the New Delhi Auto Expo. It's a small five-door hatchback with a new 1.0-litre petrol engine which meets the Euro 5 emissions standards and gives carbon dioxide emissions of less than 109g/km. A diesel engine is also under consideration.

Suzuki promises that the A-Star 'will prove that sporty and exciting performance can be enjoyed together with outstanding fuel economy', and from the pictures released so far, it certainly looks the part.

The A-Star, which may not continue with the Alto name, is intended for sale in Europe as well as India and production will start in December 2008. Suzuki will invest ¥200bn into its Indian factories by 2009, increase the Maruti Suzuki facility to 960,000 cars a year by 2010 and expand research and development activity in the country.

Suzuki will also display the Splash mini-MPV, the concept Kizashi and Kizashi 2 prototype family cars, and its 2008-specification SX4 WRC rally car, to make its debut later this month at the Monte Carlo Rally.

Maruti To Beef Up R&D

Maruti Suzuki is planning to treble the number of engineers and designers at its R&D (research and development) centre over the next three years.

The company at present has little less than 300 people in its R&D wing. This will go up to 1,000 in three years, according to company sources.

The move on the R&D front comes even as Maruti Suzuki is gearing to roll out a range of new models such as Swift Sedan, A-Star and Splash in the near term. In the medium-term, it is planning to launch the D-segment car, Kizashi.

The company is also stepping up work in alternative fuel segments like LPG, where it has shown success with WagonR Duo and Omni. “Maruti has an aggressive plan for model launches in the next few years. This will require plenty of design and development work for which we have to step up capability,” a top company official said.

S. Nakanishi, Managing Director, had asserted that Maruti was ready to play a major role in Suzuki’s global operations. It is integrating rapidly with Suzuki’s gameplan of launching world strategic models. In the light of the success of world strategic models like Swift and SX4, Maruti will be launching other Suzuki world models like Splash and A-Star in the next 12-18 months.

The A-Star will be manufactured exclusively by Maruti and exported to Europe and the rest of the world. Suzuki Chairman and CEO, O. Suzuki, had always wanted Maruti’s R&D facilities to be on a par with Suzuki Japan.

Maruti To Roll Out Rs 10-lakh Kizashi In 2010

A number of global car makers may be queuing up to compete in the crowded compact car space with a flurry of launches but the original mini major is looking the other way.

Passenger car market leader Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) is planning to move into the luxury family car market with the Kizashi in 2010.

Kizashi, currently in the concept stage, was first unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2007. It is expected to be the first all-wheel drive sedan in the luxury D segment.

It will carry an advanced four-valve turbo-fired two-litre petrol, Euro V engine, which will also be premiered at the same time. It is also likely to boast the first six-speed transmission from the Suzuki stable. A crossover sports sedan, Kizashi, which depicts an athlete in motion, is likely to sport 21” wheels.

It is expected to roll out of Maruti’s sprawling 500-acre Manesar facility.

The car will be positioned in the Rs-10 lakh-plus price band and will compete with the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Sonata, SkodaAuto Octavia and Volkswagen Jetta besides other cars that will debut in the next three years.

According to industry sources, Maruti engineers have already started working on the Kizashi to take it from the concept stage to the production platform and customise the luxury sedan for rugged Indian conditions.

Maruti To Expand Diesel Line

Delhi’s diesel dilemma does not seem to have dampened the auto industry’s interest in this fuel option. India’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki (MSI) plans to add a new set of engines to its diesel range as part of its long-term growth strategy.

It is moving away from the solitary diesel car maker image and will expand its portfolio beyond the bestselling Swift diesel.

Without outlining any timeline for the new engines, Suzuki Motor Corporation chairman Osamu Suzuki told ET: “Currently, we have the 1.3 litre multijet diesel engine being used only in Swift. We are considering more types of engine that can be introduced as there is a need to expand the diesel portfolio. Some options are being studied for smaller diesel engines.”

The company is expanding its diesel engine capacity from 1 lakh units to 3 lakh units at its Manesar facility. While the 1.3 litre engine used in the premium hatchback Swift will also be strapped on to the new offering Splash, the smaller engines that the company plans to develop at this facility will fire other compact cars. Maruti is studying options for smaller engines from Suzuki Powertrain India. “The possibility of fuel-efficient small diesel engines in future cannot be ruled out. Besides the 1.3 litre diesel engine, an expanded range will help us keep our market share intact,” said an MSI executive.

These small engines are targeted at the European market which is predominantly diesel unlike India where diesel comprises around 25% of the market. For Suzuki’s new world car A-Star — to be manufactured in India and exported mainly to the European market — the Japanese company may consider a diesel option besides the already announced 1.0 litre petrol engine.

“In case, the diesel engine is considered for this car at any point of time in future, Suzuki is open to evaluate various diesel engine options available at that time,” an MSI spokesperson said.

The company also plans to counter the growing breed of smaller diesel engines being launched by other companies like Hyundai Motor India (HMI) and General Motors. Hyundai’s new small car i10 will have a 1.1 litre diesel engine (the smallest in the market) and will soon debut in Europe. General Motors is considering a diesel engine option for its compact model Spark.

Maruti Suzuki Looks At rolling Out 'World Car' From India

Suzuki Motor is looking at launching its next "world car" from India, reports agency sources.

The car is likely to be rolled out from the Maruti Suzuki India's (MSI) facility situated at Manesar. This car is targeted at the European market.

It is believed that, the chairman of the company, Osamu Suzuki will be in India next week and he is also likely to make an announcement on the company's plans for the new global car, sources said.

The new car will be the fifth global model from Suzuki and is being jointly developed by MSI and SMC, sources added.

MSI is increasing the capacity at its Manesar plant to nearly 3 lakh units by 2010; currently it has a capacity of one lakh. The scaling up is done to accommodate the production of the new 'world car'. MSI's new R&D facility spread over 500 acre to be set up at its Manesar facility will also house a vehicle test track.

Source: http://www.myiris.com/