Maruti to launch new Swift, Dzire in 2014

Indian automobile manufacturer Maruti Suzuki may launch the face lifted versions of the Swift hatchback and Dzire compact sedan in the first quarter of 2014. These new variants are likely to be showcased at the 2014 Indian Auto Expo.

 

 

Swift is Maruti’s largest selling premium hatchback in the country and has been a hot favorite of the masses in this segment since 2005, the year when it was introduced in India.

 

The company has a plan to make the diesel engines in Japan for upcoming Maruti models in India. The future growth of diesel vehicles in India will be going to good and thus Japanese parent Suzuki is becoming a helping hand for the making of engines and though Suzuki is making two in house engines.

Maruti Suzuki launched the Swift in 2005 and ever since the car has been a runaway success. In late 2011 the all-new Swift was launched which took the game even further. The Japanese carmaker has never rushed in to give their products a facelift, but stiff competition has ensured that no car company can rest on their laurels.

 

The Swift leads the Premium hatchback or B+ segment and the Swift Dzire also leads the compact sedan segment. The Swift and the Dzire will get updated  and seems like Maruti will showcase the face lifted versions at the 2014 Indian Auto Expo, if rumors are to be believed the face lifted versions are expected to hit the showrooms by first quarter next year.

Ford EcoSport SUV launched at a starting price of Rs 5.59 lakh

US auto major Ford launched one of the most awaited cars of the year, the Ford EcoSport, at a starting price of Rs. 5.59 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

The Ford EcoSport will be available with three engine options -- the 1-litre EcoBoost petrol, 1.5-litre Ti-VCT petrol, and the 1.5-litre TDCi diesel. The 1.5 Ti-VCT will have the option of a six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox (same as the one in the Fiesta) while the rest of the variants will sport a five-speed manual.

The EcoSport will be available in seven colours and 38 accessories.

The compact SUV will take on Mahindra & Mahindra's Quanto, Maruti Suzuki's Ertiga, Renault Duster and it will also try to wean away premium hatchback Hyundai i20 and prospective compact sedan customers of Maruti Suzuki Dzire and Honda Amaze.

Honda's diesel car Amaze to hit Indian markets on 11th April, 2013

Honda’s most awaited car of recent times – the Amaze – will hit showrooms near you on 11th April, 2013. The bookings for the Honda's first ever diesel car has also been kick-started across the nation. Honda Amaze will be powered by a 1.5-L i-DTEC diesel engine that is capable of producing 100PS (98-99bhp) of maximum power output and returning 25.8kmpl of fuel efficiency. With this power and mileage, Honda Amaze will become India's most fuel efficient and most powerful sedan in its segment, leaving behind its arch rival Maruti Swift Dzire.

 

The Honda Amaze sedan will be an important car for the Japanese manufacturer. Not only is it going to be the first diesel Honda in India, but it is also entering a lucrative segment; one where the numbers are reasonably high and the profits decent. The car had its global launch in Thailand on the 25th of November 2012. 

 

 

Looks:
The Amaze is based on the Brio but unlike other boot-on-hatch jobs, it has designed from the ground up to be a proper small sedan. It is longer than its hatchback sibling slightly wider and a little taller at the back to increase shoulder and head room. The length is different, though; it will be just under-four meters to avail of the excise benefits of being a small car. The wheelbase is 62mm longer, at 2407mm.

 

The Amaze still has a very unconventional styling – just like the Brio. Unlike most Honda models the design is not subtle. You will either love it or absolutely hate it. But we have a feeling that a larger number will like the looks of this entry-level sedan. In the front, the Amaze has got a completely new grille to differentiate it from its hatchback sibling but shares other components like the headlights and bumpers. The sides and the rear have changed too for obvious reasons. The rear end now has quite a useable boot of around 420 litres which is significantly higher than its chief rival the Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire.

 

 

Interiors:
On the inside, not much has changed, other than the upholstery getting a different colour scheme and a bench in the back to seat three if necessary. The interiors will be typical Honda with beige and black combination. The extra 62mm in the wheelbase will go into increasing the rear legroom, making it a much more comfortable.

 

Engine & Transmission:
The Honda Amaze petrol will be powered by an i-VTEC 1.2-litre mill that currently powers the Brio hatchback and the Jazz. The diesel version gets a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged i-DTEC engine that produces around 90bhp. It is based on the Japanese automakers 1.6-litre diesel engine that was launched with the Civic diesel in Europe.

 

 

There will be the option of a five-speed manual or a five-speed automatic (petrol only). The sedan is just 26kg heavier than the hatch, so we do not expect a dip in fuel efficiency (believed to be 25kmpl) over the hatch. The same engine will be used in the new 2014 City sedan and a compact-crossover based on the Jazz as well as the brio but with higher power and torque figures courtesy a reworked ECU.

General Motors launches Sail sedan at Rs 4.99 Lakh

Chevrolet has launched its Sail sedan in India at a starting price of Rs 4.99 lakh, ex-Delhi. The car looks identical to the Sail U-VA launched a few months back, with the addition of a boot.

 

 

The Sail is built on a new global passenger car platform created especially for emerging markets and is available in 1.2 L petrol and 1.3 L diesel engine variants.

“It competes in one of the largest and fastest-growing segments,” said Lowell Paddock, President and Managing Director, GM India.

He said the new car has been put through more than 6.3 million kilometres of testing on different terrains across India and other countries.

The company said the petrol variant would give 18.2 km to a litre and diesel 22.1 km to a litre as per specific test conditions.

 

The top variants of the car have technology features such as Bluetooth functionality that supports up to five mobile phone pairings and music streaming.

The Sail will compete with other competitors such as Maruti Suzuki India's Swift Dzire, Tata Motors’ Indigo and Toyota Etios.

Prices of the 2013 Chevrolet Sail variants, ex-Delhi:

Base (Petrol)- Rs 4.99 lakhs

LS (Petrol)- Rs 5.49 lakhs

LS ABS (Petrol)- Rs 5.7 lakhs

LT ABS (Petrol)- Rs 6.42 lakhs

Base (Diesel)- Rs 6.29 lakhs

LS (Diesel)- Rs 6.59 lakhs

LS ABS (Diesel)- Rs 6.8 lakhs

LT ABS (Diesel) - Rs 7.52 lakhs

Maruti All Set To Launch Their First Made In India Car

Maruti Suzuki India Limited, is the largest car company and automobile manufacturer having near about half of the domestic car market share. Its all time hit models like Maruti 800, Maruti Alto and recent models like Maruti Swift, Wagon-R, DZire are known to all. Now the company is planning to launch its first completely made in India New Cars by 2012 and final design of this model will be released in the first half of next year. Final work on the design and other aspects is in full swing, as reported by a source.

Also according to information this complete made in India Maruti car will be placed along with small car segment like Maruti Alto and company is working really hard to launch this Maruti car by 2012 and to make this car also a grand success.

Maruti Suzuki partial subsidiary of Japanese auto giant Suzuki, is working seriously for the company's future car models and also on its growth programme. To carry on development programme of this Maruti car, company is planning to invest a sum of Rs 1,500 crore at in the next 3-4 years time at Rohtak R&D center which is the only center having equipments and standards comparable other than one in Japan. Main manufacturing plant of Maruti Suzuki is located at Gurgaon and Manesar which have annual capacity of more than 7 lac units. One of the spokesperson without disclosing the information about new car told that Maruti Suzuki India is always eager to satisfy their customers and will always work towards the technological development and better facilities.

Also if reports are to believe Maruti Suzuki India Limited is launching this first made in India model to challenge other competitors like Hyundai Motors and to better companys grip in the domestic market.

And to further adding to it, Hyundai Motors is also engaged in designing and developing a model which will be placed below Hyundai Santro to compete with Maruti Alto. So those who are not interested in buying a car in near future may wait for these models to change their minds and make decision.

It's a long wait for key car models this festive season

A number of cars such as Maruti’s Dzire and Ritz, Honda’s City, Hyundai’s i20 and Toyota’s Fortuner SUV have been wiped off shelves in past 10 days and are not available for immediate delivery as demand frenzy during the ongoing festival season has led to stock out situation for car dealers.

Carmakers are now being forced to ramp up production to meet demand. For instance, Maruti has re-jigged its operations to produce more of its newer cars such as Ritz, Estilo, Swift and DZire, while Honda has hiked production of its flagship sedan City and General Motors is operating its factory on all seven days to meet the market demand for small car Spark, utility vehicle Tavera and Aveo sedan even though Sunday is weekly off for the company. The festive season has also put other cars such as Hyundai’s I10 and Toyota’s Innova besides Mahindra and Mahindra’s Xylo out of dealer stock.

Auto industry executives say that the dual-combination of the prevailing festival mood and the slew of new car launches in recent past has contributed to the high sales in the past two weeks. “The interest rates, which are at the lowest level since the past two years is also pushing up volumes,” said Shashank Srivastava chief general manager (marketing) at Maruti. Maruti is slated to end up with despatches of over 5,500 Ritz cars in September as against the monthly average of 4500-5000, it was delivering to dealers every month.

Besides sudden jump in demand there is also a supply lag for these cars. Companies usually ramp up production of new cars over a period depending on demand. Since there has been a sudden jump in demand during the festive period companies were not prepared to churn out the required number of these models.

Unlike older more established products such as Maruti’s Alto or Wagon R, where discounts and freebies up to 15% of the value of the car are given the newer models have much lower discounts. The demand rush during the auspicious Navratara and Dusshera festivals have resulted in the huge waiting period of up to three months on such cars — some of which are leaders in their respective segment.

“There has been much more sales than we had expected. Most of our cars like Tavera, Spark LPG, Aveo sedan have wiped off from the showrooms and are enjoy a waiting of four to six-weeks,” said General Motors vice-president (marketing & sales) Ankush Arora said.

Domestic car market is expected to scale new sales graph for the fiscal in September on the back of this huge demand. This would help the industry surpass the mark of 1.2 lakh cars that were sold in August in India.

Besides general demand, return of easy financing could also have helped spur demand. “We are anticipating a double digit growth in sales over the last year in September with market leaders like Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai their highest sales in the domestic market,” HDFC Bank auto loan head Ashok Khanna said. Earlier, most private sector financiers had tightened their auto loan portfolio which had also led to slow growth in demand.

Maruti Suzuki A-Star touches One-lakh mark

Maruti Suzuki successfully rolled out its 1,00,000th A-Star model on Tuesday from the Manesar plant. The Manesar plant which also manufactures Maruti Suzuki models like SX4, Swift and Swift DZire crossed manufacturing 5-lakh units since its establishment.

This milestone was achieved by Maruri Suzuki in less than two weeks after the car behemoth made a breakthrough of manufacturing more than 80 Lakh units of the car since 1983.

"A-Star is doing very well in the export market. We are planning to export over 75,000 units of the car by the end of this fiscal," Maruti Suzuki India Chairman R C Bhargava said.

He also added that the Japanese car major Nissan had increased the order of the small car to 54,000 units for this fiscal from 30,000 units.

Nissan sells the A-Star under the brand name Pixo in the European market.

"At one stage Nissan was very hesitant to place order and they had reduced it from 50,000 units, which they were discussing with us. Now the total A-Star export will cross 1.3 lakh units in 2009-10," Bhargava added.

India number one car maker Maruti Suzuki has already exported over 50,000 units of A-Star to over 44 countries including Netherlands, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Angola, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Morocco, Libya, New Zealand and some Latin American nations. The making of this small car started in October, 2008.

These cars are in great demand in India!

The passenger vehicle market may be slowing, but Maruti Suzuki's Swift Dzire sedan and Swift hatchback, Mahindra & Mahindra's utility vehicle Xylo and Hyundai's i20 have long waiting lists that have their manufacturers struggling to increase production.

Xylo, the multi-utility vehicle (base model is priced Rs 6.48 lakh (Rs 6,48,000) ex-showroom, Delhi) that was launched in January this year, has a waiting period of over two months.


Mahindra & Mahindra's xylo

Despite M&M raising prices by Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 about a month ago, sales have not been dented, say company executives.

The company had initially set a production target of 120 units a day; unprecedented demand has forced it to raise this to 130 to 135 units per day.

"The top-end variant is seeing the maximum surge in demand," said Pawan Goenka, president (automotive sector), M&M.


Mahindra & Mahindra's Scorpio

The Xylo has even eaten into the share of M&M's sports utility vehicle Scorpio and MUV Bolero. About a quarter of buyers who had planned to buy Scorpio or Bolero booked Xylo, said the company.

Maruti Suzuki's Dzire, the sedan version of the popular Swift hatchback that was launched in March last year, has a waiting period of three to four months for both versions (the diesel variant costs Rs 5.47 lakh (Rs 547,000) and petrol Rs 4.61 lakh (Rs 461,000), ex-showroom Delhi).


Maruti Suzuki's Dzire

"Initially, there were some constraints on availability of engines. Those are over and we are raising capacity.

But demand has also increased," said RC Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki.

He added, "It is difficult to say if we will have spare capacity to increase production further."

The company initially produced 3,000 Swift DZires a month but had to quickly scale up to 7,000 as demand grew. Bookings, however, crossed 10,000 vehicles a month.

"We have continuously scaled up production for Swift DZire but the demand is still far ahead. The car, which is promoted as a vehicle that meets all aspirational needs, will continue to see healthy growth in demand even in such a downturn," said Mayank Pareek, executive officer (sales and marketing), Maruti Suzuki.

About 65 per cent demand for Swift DZire is for the diesel variant.

Maruti's Swift hatchback has a waiting period of over three months in most markets, with the diesel variant being the most in demand.

Company executives said they were producing over 9,000 units a month but were booking about 11,000.

The petrol version costs Rs 3.99 lakh (Rs 399,000) and diesel Rs 4.67 lakh (Rs 467,000 ex-showroom, Delhi).

Hyundai had priced the i20 at a steep Rs 4.79 lakh (Rs 479,000, ex-showroom, Delhi) when it launched it in December last year and did not expect to sell more than 1,000 units a month.


Hyundai i20

Bookings however, have ranged from 2,000 to 2,200 cars every month.

"Initially we had a waiting list of 60 days but this has come down to 45 days after we increased production.

However, we had not anticipated this response for a car that was considered expensive in its category," said a company spokesperson.

Hyundai says that it has been able to increase production to around 1,500 a month -- which is around 7 per cent of monthly production -- by juggling the production of different models.

Car-mania continues despite inflation

HYUNDAI Motor India Ltd (HMIL) on Monday reported a34 per cent increase in domestic car sales during June at 21,881 units while the country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki recorded a flat growth of 0.7 per cent selling 56,411 units during the month. SUV maker Mahindra &Mahindra (M& M), which markets diesel- run vehicles, recorded an eight per cent growth during the month. Hyundai did well with its i10 and Santro, while Maruti Suzuki notched up a high growth of 48 per cent in the A3 segment with its Swift Dzire and Sx4 models, selling as many as 5,807 units during the month, compared to 3,923 units in June last year. Inclusive of exports, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd reported a slightly higher growth of 2.22 per cent rise in total vehicle sales during June at 61,247 units, compared to 59,917 units in the same month last year.

In the A2 segment, comprising Alto, Zen Estillo, Wagon R and Swift, the company registered a marginal growth of 0.3 per cent at 37,767 units, against 37,646 units in the same month last year. Its M800 model recorded 13.73 per Maruti Suzuki’s sales grew 48 per cent year- on- year cent decline at 5,361 units in June, compared to 6,214 units during the corresponding month last year. Exports during the month stood at 4,836 units compared to 3,917 units in the same month last year, up 23.5 per cent. Hyundai’s overall sales, including exports, were up 45.3 per cent at 40,182 units during June compared to 27,653 units in the same month a year ago, said a company statement. Its exports for the month rose to 18,301 units, against 11,318 units during the same month of the previous year. HMIL sold 33,859 units of hatchbacks Santro, Getz and i10, 6,272 units of Accent and Verna, 47 units of Sonata Embera and four units of its SUV Tucson in June. “At a time when the industry is already under tremendous pressure because of higher interest rates, rise in fuel costs and rising inflation, it is indeed heartening to see that Hyundai products continue to be an affordable and attractive buy for most car buyers,’’ the company’s vice- president Arvind Saxena said.

The company’s i10 has done well and it has sold over 1,00,000 units in less than six months since its launch, he added. Mahindra &Mahindra said its domestic sales in June went up by 8.17 per cent to 18,179 units, against 16,805 units it sold in the same month last year. Its total sales, including exports, grew 8.78 per cent to 19,371 vehicles, compared to 17,807 units in the corresponding period last year, the company said in a statement.

Who is scoring in the war of sedans?

It’s the ride quality where Logan scores over Dzire. On most other counts, it’s the Maruti sedan that offers more value for money.

AFTER SELLING like hot property in the A3 segment for a year, the Mahindra Renault Logan 1.5 diesel now faces stiff competition from the country’s largest automobile manufacturer’s latest avatar Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire.

The Logan is powered by a 4- cylinder, 1461cc, 1.5 Dci engine, and the Dzire is equipped with a multijet diesel 1248cc engine. To distill this technical mumbo- jumbo, the Dzire is more powerful and produces excellent acceleration thrust. Yet the slower Logan should not be dismissed off- hand – it has enough spunk to beat city traffic. Fire up both the engines, and there is the rattle and hum typical of diesel cars.

Between the two, it is the Renaults engine that makes its audible presence felt. Both have a 5- speed manual transmission, but the Dzire tops with its precise gear ratio and smooth shift. Needless to say, the Logans gearbox is not as slick as the Swift sedans. The Renault cars third gear has a tall ratio that may force frequent changing of gears.

When it comes to ride quality, the Logan scores. The Renault easily negotiates dirt roads. And the Dzire seems to take sadistic pleasure in making you feel each bump on the road. At a glance, neither the Dzire, nor the Logan are stunning beauties.

The Renault has an outdated 1980s boxy look that needs at least a set of nice- looking alloy wheels and a rear spoiler to give it a passable makeover. Maruti has played its trump card and transformed its Swift hatchback into the Dzire. The sedan, therefore, retains the sporty look of the hatchback at the front, with the thick line of chrome at the rear being a take- off of the Nissan Teana and the BMW 7- Series.

Looked at from the side, though, the Dzires silhouette is awkward given its disproportionate aspects, but compared to the Logan, the Swift sedan looks contemporary and fresh. When it comes to interiors, the Dzire leaves the Logan squirming in embarrassment. As Maruti has borrowed most of the Swifts interiors, there is a sense of familiarity with the Dzires dash and the instrument cluster.

The high- end ZDI trim gets steering wheel mounted audio controls and an automatic climate control, which are both firsts in the category. The integrated audio system is neatly tucked away in the dash and is user friendly. The Logan's interiors are tacky. The beige colour adds to the cheapness of the look. The inside door handles look down market. Improper placement of the power- window buttons on the central console under the air vents requires almost a GPS system to locate them during driving. The instrument cluster, though, is clear, big and simple.

The Renault is the only car that has an onboard computer in this class. The Logans trump card is the ample leg, head and shoulder room available. It has a 510- litre boot space, which is generous in comparison to the Dzires 400 litres, which had to be shaved to accommodate the intrusions from the trunks flab. The fuel average is high for both the cars. The Logan gives 18 kmpl in city conditions and 24 kmpl on highways; the Dzire returns 14 kmpl and 18 kmpl, respectively.

The Dzire costs Rs 6.7 lakh and the Renault, Rs 6.9 lakh. Not much of a price difference, but the Maruti sedan gives more value for money. Given that they are entry- level sedans, the Logan and the Dzire have a lot going for them.

Maruti hikes prices of its models as input costs rise

INDIA'S largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, on Monday raised prices of most of its models to offset the rising cost of inputs such as steel.

The price hike ranges from Rs 1,000 on the Zen Estilo and Wagon R hatchback to Rs 18,000 on its sedan Swift Dzire. The company had launched the Swift Dzire sedan with an introductory price ranging from Rs 4.49 lakh to Rs 6 lakh across different variants, which has now been withdrawn, a Maruti dealer said.

Maruti has also hiked the prices of all petrol variants of hatchback Swift, SX4 and Gypsy by Rs 9,000, while the price of the diesel version of Swift has been raised by Rs 15,000. It has also increased the price of all variants of Zen Estilo and WagonR LPG by Rs 1,000 and of Alto and M800 by Rs 1,500.

Prices of all variants of Omni and WagonR Petrol have also been hiked by Rs 2,000 and that of multi- utility vehicle Versa by Rs 8,000. The price increases, which spared the Grand Vitara SUV, came into effect at the weekend, he said.

Maruti's managing director, Shinzo Nakanishi, had said in April that the car maker was negotiating with steel companies on new contracts, for which it faced up to a 40 per cent price increase. Earlier, Maruti had cut prices of some of its models, after the government reduced excise duty on small cars.