Tata Nano has created a new segment in India and although Maruti may have denied launching a Nano competitor earlier but it does acknowledge that it is a segment that remains to be tapped. There were earlier reports that Maruti may plan a sub-Alto model for the Indian car market and now Financial Express and Yahoo! Finance carry reports that there may be indeed a 2-cylinder Maruti Alto coming to the Indian market next year.
The new model is codenamed as “YP3” which will fill the gap between Tata Nano and Maruti Alto in the Indian car market. The report adds that the company has initiated the sourcing process for the tiny engine which helps in lowering costs substantially. Currently, the lowest priced version of Maruti Alto model comes equipped with a 800-cc, three-cylinder F8D engine.
“Maruti’s strategy is to explore every price category in the small car segment. The Nano launch forced it to sit up and explore this segment once again,” said a top-component manufacturer to FE. Yet another vendor said that Maruti aims to target customers who can buy Tata Nano and would like own a Maruti brand at a little extra cost. The new model is expected to be at least Rs. 50,000 costlier than Tata Nano.
