Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), the country's largest passenger car maker, has devised a new strategy in a desperate bid to regain its dominance in the domestic car market has revealed to launch a new variant of its popular Alto car, somewhere in October 2012. The upcoming car will carry the namesake 'Alto 800' and is expected to fill-in the void left by the iconic Maruti Suzuki 800 small car, which has been discontinued by the company. Further, MSIL has also planned to launch a CNG variant of the upcoming Alto 800 in the domestic car market.
Recently, MSIL encountered its most difficult period in its glorious three decades of presence, the ugly Manesar incident of July 2012. The company's Manesar production unit witnessed a deadly riot on July 18, 2012, which led to the death of a senior human resource executive and serious injuries to more than 100 staff members. Following the riot, the plant went into a complete month long lock-out and costed the company crores in lost revenue and production, besides impacting a major chunk of MSIL's export operations.
If the Manesar incident wasn't enough, the sluggish vehicle sales and slackening demand for automotives, piled on miseries for the Indian auto maker. The high petrol prices and the ever increasing auto finance rates also proved instrumental in driving the domestic car market towards economic slowdown, which kept the Indian car enthusiasts far from the stores of the automotive companies. Accordingly, the sales of MSIL hit rock bottom and thus, the company is succumbing to every possible means to regain the confidence of domestic car buyers.
Reportedly, the total vehicle sales of current Maruti Suzuki Alto dropped by 34.83 per cent at just 89,000 units during the April-August months of 2012, as against the sales recorded of 1.22 lac units during the same period last year. The entry-level small car Alto had contributed to the bulk of the company's vehicle sales, until last year when Maruti Suzuki's other product Switch hatchback overtook Alto in terms of total sales in early months of 2012. Evidently, reports suggest that Alto contributed sales of 3.08 lac and 3.4 lac units of the total vehicle sales of MSIL in 2011 and 2010, respectively.
Regarding the yet-to-be launched Alto 800 entry-level car, Manohar Bhat, Vice President (VP), MSIL, said, “We want to do what we were doing and even better with the Alto 800 coming in. It is a very difficult market now. It is in a bit of flux now and with the Alto 800, we hope there would be excitement and it will reignite the market.”
MSIL and its associates have disbursed a stupendous amount of Rs. 470 crore towards developing the upcoming Alto 800 car. The company is confident that the incredible fuel economy of 22.74 kmpl delivered by the Alto 800's engine will come handy in bringing the car in the spotlight for the entry-level buyers. Reportedly, the outstanding fuel efficiency of the upcoming car is 15 per cent higher than the old Alto and is expected to prove beneficial in captivating the Indian buyers. In addition to the improved mileage, the new Alto 800 will come trimmed with a refined transmission system and more spacious leg room for its rear seated passengers.
Further, MSIL recorded a dip in sales in the domestic small car market, which was largely fuelled by the lack of demand of its Alto model. The company's overall share in the Indian passenger car market went below 40 per cent and the unified sales registered at 10,49,961 units during the April-August months of the ongoing 2012 financial year. The upcoming Alto 800 can be termed as a shiny blade in MSIL's arsenal and may prove decisive towards recapturing the imagination of Indian buyers, a thing which the company is traditionally so strong at.
