Maruti Suzuki India Limited launched another small car in the Indian market today. India’s largest car manufacturer and second largest car exporter is ready to splash the domestic and the overseas market with its global model featuring the new K-series engine. The new model will be sold as “Ritz” in India and as Suzuki Splash in the European market. The new Suzuki Splash will mark Suzuki’s entry in Europe where it still lacks a strong presence.
The new Maruti Ritz is a hatchback model positioned in the A2 segment. It basically falls in between Maruti’s other premium hatchbacks A-star and Swift. The car has been built on Swift’s platform which enables the company to manufacture it at lower price and position it competitively in the market. There is also a high level of localization, nearly 85 percent, that makes the car still cheaper.
Ritz is yet another glamorous addition to Maruti’s small car product portfolio which is already the largest in the country. The company launched both the petrol and diesel variants today and the introductory price for the car will be in the range of Rs. 3.90 lakh to 4.99 lakh. The car will be available with two different engine options: a new 1.2-litre, four-cylinder 85 PS petrol version, and the group's successful 1.3-litre, 16-valve DDiS, 75 PS diesel engine. There are total five variants of the car that will be available for the Indian customers. There will be three variants with petrol engines – LXi, VXi and ZXi and two diesel variants – LDi and VDi.
The car has been designed for the Indian roads with a strong chassis and well-engineered suspension. The suspension is softened and raised as compared to the one present in Swift. The overall design portrays the European look. The car features its style, design, comfort and space keeping in mind demands of the middle and the upper middle class that asks for comfort and space at an extremely competitive price. Maruti positions the car as a complete family car catering to the small car demands from the Indian customers.
Photos by Avishek Dutta, Delhi
