Maruti attempts to save its dwindling market share

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL), the country's largest car maker which accounts for the sales of every second car in the country, will be facing a tough year ahead as an array of new entrants have endangered its long standing dominance in the compact-car segment. Mr Osama Suzuki, the head of the Japan based leading car maker Suzuki Motors, had told the media at the Delhi auto Expo in January that, 2010 will be a tough year for the company in India owing to the slew of new car launches.

However, the company is working aggressively on its plans to defend its market share of more than 50%, in India. MSIL has recently launched new Maruti wagon R in the Indian market with its latest K-Series engine, to maintain its competitiveness against a number of new entrants like Chevrolet Beat, Ford Figo and Volkswagen polo.

Moreover, the company is planning to roll-out a new and upgraded Maruti Swift in the Indian market by the first quarter of 2011. The new Swift will be equipped with a basket full of additional features along with a fully-revamped interior. With this, the new Swift will be manufactured with high quality steel which will ensure the maximum safety of the passengers.

The company has also decided to set-up stock-yards for its cars in different parts of the country so that the waiting period for these cars can be brought down. Maruti's popular cars in India including premium hatchback Swift, entry level sedan Swift Dzire and recently rolled out MPV Eeco have a waiting period of as much as 4 months. The company has already started the land acquisition process and first such kind of stockyard will be established in Bangalore by the end of this year. The company has planned a heavy investment of Rs 200 crore for the establishment of these stockyards (model showrooms) in the Indian market.