Maruti Suzuki to Replace SX4, A-Star and Estilo with new Models

Maruti Suzuki India, the country's largest car maker will launch two new vehicles in a year's time in India. By introducing two new models, Maruti will replace the car that aren't selling too well as it aims to regain market share in the Indian automotive market. The company had 45 per cent market share of the passenger vehicle market in 2010-11, which in last fiscal was 39 per cent, almost the same as the 38 per cent share the company had a year before.

According to the Livemint reports, the first, codenamed YL7, will be launched during the 2014 Delhi Auto Expo, India's biggest auto show. Two persons close to the development have given this information, however, they haven't revealed much about the cars. The new car will be developed on the company's small car platform, and will replace the A-Star and the Estilo, neither of two are doing good for the company. Meanwhile, the firm has two small products Alto and WagonR, which are still leading the charts of top selling cars in India.

Maruti Suzuki India also plans to remove its SX4 sedan from its line-up and replace it with an all-new model based on the same platform. With this new car, codenamed YL1, the firm aims to establish themselves in this segment where they have been weaning after the introduction of Hyundai's Verna, Volkswagen Vento and new Honda City. However, the company people declined to comment on the future strategy and product of the firm.

The new small car is especially important for the India's largest car manufacturer, which holds 51 per cent share in the segment. Every third or fourth small car sold in India comes from Maruti's bag. However, the small car sales declined by 9.64 per cent in 2012-13, largely because of a slowing economy, and even Maruti's sales of small cars fell 5 per cent.

Last year was the worst ever fiscal year for the Indian automobile industry, where car sales were down by 6.69 per cent, and according to experts, the 2013-14 is also expected to remain the same. The major reasons behind such a slowdown are slowing economy, rising inflation, and the high cost of financing a car. Maruti Suzuki India believes that the only way to sustain in the slowdown is to take the market share from rivals. Now-a-days, the buyers prefer to buy diesel-powered cars over petrol ones as the price of the fuel is about 30 per cent cheaper than petrol, and even the demand for Maruti's small car models, including Alto, is declining.

Source : Livemint

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