Suzuki To Make Compact, Low-Emissions Hatchback In India Geared For Global Export

Beginning next October, Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corp. plans to make a new compact hatchback in India that will be sold all over the world, the company's chairman said Tuesday.

The plan is part of Suzuki's efforts to make India an export hub. It also is intended to keep Suzuki Motor Corp.'s majority share of the Indian car market as competition mounts in the coming years.

"Our next world car will be made in India," Chairman Osamu Suzuki told reporters in New Delhi. "We are going to commence production after autumn 2008."

The one-liter gasoline engine car will not only comply with the most stringent pollution control rules but also keep carbon emissions lower than those of its European competitors, Suzuki said.

It will come with a "very attractive" price tag, the company said without giving details.

Suzuki holds a controlling 54 percent stake in Maruti Suzuki Ltd., India's largest car maker, which is expanding its factory in the northern Indian town of Manesar to prepare for production.

"In a year or year and half, we would have tripled production at the Manesar plant to 300,000 units," said Jagdish Khattar, managing director at Maruti Suzuki.

About 150,000 units of the new car will be manufactured annually at the Manesar plant, Suzuki said. A third of this will be exported, while the rest will be sold in India, he said.

The new car — code named A-Star — is part of Maruti Suzuki's ongoing efforts to protect its market share in India, which stood at 54 percent last year.

The company plans to invest 200 billion yen (US$1.8 billion, €1.22 billion) between 2007 and 2009 to increase capacity, bring new models and shift manufacturing of more engines to India.

The car is the first model that has involved designers from Maruti Suzuki's research and development division in India from its initial stage of its styling, a company statement said.

Suzuki said the company wants to further strengthen its research and development work in India.

Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/11/business/AS-FIN-COM-India-Suzuki.php

Suzuki Boss Sceptical About 3,000 Dollar Car

Suzuki Motor is taking a cautious view of the race to build a 3,000-dollar car in India, where the Japanese mini-car specialist is the market leader, its chief executive said Wednesday.

India's Tata Motors has previously said it plans to introduce a 3,000-dollar car in its home market next year, while Nissan and Renault are also considering jointly launching a similarly priced vehicle in India by 2010.

But Suzuki chairman and chief executive Osamu Suzuki expressed scepticism about prospects for such a low-priced vehicle.

"Global standards for emissions, environmental protection and also automobile safety are all becoming stricter each year. It's not really clear which standards, in which year, this 3,000-dollar car is aiming to meet.

"For example, will airbags be included? Will there be seatbelts? These are questions that really need to be considered," he told reporters.

"So our fundamental stance is that rather than Suzuki becoming very concerned and watching over its shoulder to see what other people are doing, Suzuki has decided to move forward at its own pace," he said.

Suzuki was an early entrant into the Indian market when the billion-plus nation started opening up its economy in the 1990s following decades of socialist protectionism.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited, majority owned by the Japanese automaker, now has a market share of more than 50 percent in the fast-growing Indian market, but its dominance is being increasingly challenged by global automakers.

"Going forward the idea of our being able to maintain this 55 percent share is something that's going to be very difficult to achieve," said Shinzo Nakanishi, managing director of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.

"We will strive to keep this very large market share. However we do realise that competition is going to be fierce going forward," he said.

Chief executive Suzuki was more optimistic.

"We will forever maintain a 50 percent or more share of the (Indian) market. It all really depends on the product," he said.

Maruti To Hike Prices Across All Models

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the country's biggest carmaker, will increase prices of its cars across all models by up to Rs 12,000 from next month to offset the rise in input costs and freight charges.

According to dealer sources, the company has cited higher costs of raw materials such as lead and aluminium as well as oil among the reasons for increasing the vehicle prices.

Sources said Maruti has written to its dealers across the country that the prices will be increased from January 2008. Further, the company's production facilities will be shut down for maintenance activities during December 24-31 and the dealers have been asked to plan their bookings accordingly.

Maruti officials declined to comment on the issue.

Sources also said MSIL has told its dealers that the higher prices would be applicable on dispatches of vehicles from the date of announcement of the price hike and there would not be any price protection for pending orders at the company level.

Source: http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200712071632.htm

Maruti To Hike Prices Across All Models

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the country's biggest carmaker, will increase prices of its cars across all models by up to Rs 12,000 from next month to offset the rise in input costs and freight charges.

According to dealer sources, the company has cited higher costs of raw materials such as lead and aluminium as well as oil among the reasons for increasing the vehicle prices.

Sources said Maruti has written to its dealers across the country that the prices will be increased from January 2008. Further, the company's production facilities will be shut down for maintenance activities during December 24-31 and the dealers have been asked to plan their bookings accordingly.

Maruti officials declined to comment on the issue.

Sources also said MSIL has told its dealers that the higher prices would be applicable on dispatches of vehicles from the date of announcement of the price hike and there would not be any price protection for pending orders at the company level.

Source: http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200712071632.htm

Maruti Leads In Customer Satisfaction For 8th Year In A Row

Global consultancy and research firm JD Power Asia has ranked car market leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) as the best four-wheeler manufacturer in the country in terms of customer satisfaction for the eighth consecutive year.

MSIL, which scored 838 points on a 1,000 point customer satisfaction index, was far ahead of the industry average of 777 points primarily on account of innovative service offerings like doorstep pickup and delivery of cars for servicing for its lady customers, JD Power said in a statement.

The special service package for lady customers has got JD Power's special mention in this year's survey. MSIL offers the special service across all its 621 dealer workshops covering 1,195 cities.

"The study finds that vehicle pickup and delivery before and after service has a strong impact on customer satisfaction. In particular, customers who say that their vehicle was picked up from their doorstep before service and delivered to the same point after service are notably more delighted with their after-sales service experience," the statement said.

MSIL was followed by Honda with 765 points, Hyundai (745 points) and Toyota (740 points) at second, third and fourth places respectively.

Homegrown carmaker Tata Motors scored nearly 80 points less then the industry average at 690 points to emerge as the ninth company on the index.

"Picking up and delivering vehicles provides greater convenience to customers, who travel an average of nine kilometres each way to reach their authorised service centre," JD Power Asia Pacific Senior Director Mohit Arora said.

JD Power's customer satisfaction index, in its 11th year now, measures the overall satisfaction of vehicle owners who visited their authorised service centre for maintenance or repair work during the first 12 to 18 months of ownership.

The research firm determines customer satisfaction through seven measures -- problems experienced, service quality, user-friendly service, service advisor, service initiation, service delivery, and in-service experience.

"The steady improvement in industry-wide CSI performance during the previous three years reflects the success that many manufacturers have had in enhancing the customer experience at their dealerships," Arora said.

He said the improvement in performance is encouraging, considering the sharp increase in service volumes for most dealer networks.

The study said customers who service their vehicles only at authorised service centres report higher overall service satisfaction, compared with those who also use non-authorised service centres in the past.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

2001 Strike Made Maruti What It Is Today: Khattar

Strange as it may sound but Maruti Suzuki India's outgoing Managing Director Jagdish Khattar gives full credit to a strike at the beginning of this century for success of the company that today controls over half the Indian car market despite presence of the world's who's who.

"The 90-day strike was the turning point...had we given in at that time, we would not have been what we are today," he said ruminating on his 14-year stint that is coming to an end after he refused Chairman O Suzuki's offer for extension.

He, however, was uncomfortable talking about the recent success of the Indian entity overtaking the parent company - Japan's Suzuki Motor Co - in terms of sales for the first half of the year. The feat was reported from Tokyo but Indian executives kept it under wraps for months and did not talk may be because of modesty or the fear of offending their bosses.

"The 2001 strike was one of the toughest periods that I came across in Maruti Suzuki. It was actually the turning point," Khattar said, recounting the pressure (political) he had to face in the company where the government was 50 per cent partner at that time.

The man, who joined the company in 1993 as a marketing director, remembers the "total and unflinching" support he got from Suzuki and said: "If we were to give in to agitators, we would not have been what we are today. Salaries would have shot up, too many manpower and less of efficiencies, cost of production would have escalated and our competitiveness would have been wiped out."

The workers had taken to agitation in 2001 for pay perks and working conditions and a settlement for ending the strike was announced by the then industry minister Manohar Joshi.

"The biggest strength was my own people in the factory, who despite being less in numbers kept the production going," Khattar recalled and admitted that his training as an IAS officer was also of help.

Looking back, he said he has no regrets and was leaving the company as a satisfied man who has done his job. "I am not someone who harps on the past. I have had an eventful tenure in Maruti. I have no regrets and I am leaving as a contented man."

Khattar, who saw the company change from a public-private partnership between India government and Japan's Suzuki Motor Co to a fully privatised entity, said that he was "lucky in many ways to be a part of a change from controlled economy to a liberalised one".

"Not only in Maruti, even when I was with UP Cement Corporation and during my stint in Steel Ministry, I have been a witness to the change," he said, reflecting on the time when he joined Maruti when there was a waiting list for cars and today when companies offer discounts to beat competition.

"Every company has its own strategy and we cannot be reacting to all. We need to focus on our strategy. As far as the Rs one lakh car is concerned, Suzuki has already made it clear it cannot produce a car at that price fulfilling all safety norms," he said.

Despite speculation rife on his future plans, Khattar refuses to disclose and keeps the cards close to his chest. "First I will enjoy the break and think about it (future) later," he quipped.

Maruti Suzuki Domestic Sales Rise 15% In Oct`07

India's top car maker Maruti Suzuki (Q, N,C,F)* India clocked 14.96% rise in domestic vehicle sales at 64,258 vehicles for October 2007 as against 55,894 units sold in October 2006.

In all, the company sold 69,415 vehicles in October 2007. This includes 5,157 units of exports.

Maruti's volume in the domestic A2 segment, which comprises of Alto, Wagon-R, Zen, Swift, went up by 20.9% and in A3 segment, which comprises of Esteem, SX4, volume grew by 54.7% during the October 2007 compared to sales in October 2006.

Recently, the company announced it plans to invest USD 1.8 billion in R&D, marketing and capacity expansion.

Maruti Bags Order For 300 'Versa' From Orix

Maruti Suzuki India's efforts to push sales of multi-purpose vehicle 'Versa' received a boost by way of an order from multinational fleet operator Orix for 300 units, estimated to be worth over Rs 10 crore.

According to sources, Orix had approached Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) for a customised version of Versa, which it intends to run as radio taxis in Delhi.

"The seven-seater vehicle to be delivered to Orix will be called 'Versa OX' and will see changes in the interiors such as seating arrangements with more plush upholstery," a source said.

The order comes at a time when MSI is mulling over bringing in changes to Versa to make it a volume driver.

If the concept of making the Versa more suitable for fleet operators, as it has done for Orix, catches on, MSI may even look at coming out with a completely new version of the vehicle.

When contacted, MSI officials declined to comment.

Versa, which was launched in 2001 dubbed as India's first luxury MPV, has not met with much success by Maruti's own high standards.

The company had even roped in Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan to promote the product. In 2004, it had brought in the five-seater variant of the Versa.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/02071507.htm

Maruti To Replace Esteem In 2008

Maruti may say that volumes are important for the company but it has clearly got an eye on margins too.

Sources have told NDTV that Maruti's next model in January will be a C segment sedan based on the Swift.

Maruti's Esteem has been in the market for over a decade now and desperately needs a replacement. This will also be a high volumes product.

Component industry sources indicate volumes in the region of 35,000-55,000 units per year. The car will be made at Maruti's new plant at Manesar. The plant is gearing up for inventory build up in December prior to launch.

Since the car will share the Swift platform, there would be few development costs on the engine front as it is likely to share both diesel and petrol power trains. The car will be priced in Rs 5-6 lakh bracket and this means that the model will help boost Maruti's bottomline.

Sources also confirm that all key suppliers for the project are in place. The new car is likely be exported by March 2008, primarily to Europe to boost the missing sedan link for Suzuki.

It will also take on a segment where sales have been segmented with Hyundai, Tata Motors, Ford and Mahindra Logan. But the company will once again seek market leader status in this class like it has achieved with the SX4 launched a few months ago.

So expect very aggressive pricing and the good news for the Maruti shareholder is that margins will not be impacted, in fact they will get a booster.

Maruti Suzuki Domestic Sales Rise 15% In Oct'07

India's top car maker Maruti Suzuki (Q, N,C,F)* India clocked 14.96% rise in domestic vehicle sales at 64,258 vehicles for October 2007 as against 55,894 units sold in October 2006.

In all, the company sold 69,415 vehicles in October 2007. This includes 5,157 units of exports.

Maruti's volume in the domestic A2 segment, which comprises of Alto, Wagon-R, Zen, Swift, went up by 20.9% and in A3 segment, which comprises of Esteem, SX4, volume grew by 54.7% during the October 2007 compared to sales in October 2006.

Recently, the company announced it plans to invest USD 1.8 billion in R&D, marketing and capacity expansion.

Shares of the company were last trading down Rs 10.65, or 0.99%, at Rs 1,062.90. The total volume of shares traded at the BSE was 128,387 (11.41 a.m., Thursday).