Maruti Suzuki plans to launch a small car in 2010
BS reported that Maruti Suzuki planned to launch a 660 cc car in 2010. In Japan, the 600 cc range includes the Cervo Mode and the Alto. However, it also plans to upgrade the Omni engine to make it compliant with the latest emission norms and launch an executive sedan to compete with the Toyota Corolla and the Honda Civic.
Mr Shinzo Nakanishi MD of Maruti Suzuki said "The Suzuki 660 cc car is a good car for the Indian market, but it will take some years to launch it here."
Mr Nakanishi said that several issues needed to be addressed before the 660 cc car was launched. One is the large investment Maruti has made on commissioning a plant for the K - series engine, which runs the A Star and soon to be launched Ritz. He said we have to recover this investment first. Once that happens, we'll focus on the 660 cc car.
As per report, Maruti invested INR 1,800 crore in 2008 - 09 and plans to invest another INR 1,600 crore this year. A large portion of this money has been set aside for the development of the K-Series engine and a new plant in Gurgaon.
Second, to launch the 660 cc car in the domestic market, Maruti's assembly lines in Manesar and Gurgaon will have to be recalibrated, which was not possible given the waiting period for models like the Swift and Dzire.
He said "Thirdly, the 660 cc engine needs to be upgraded to meet Bharat 4 norms, which push up the cost of the car." He also made it clear that, contrary to earlier reports, the Omni will not be phased out when the Bharat 4 emission norms come into effect next year in around 11 cities.
Mr Nakanishi said "Every month, we sell about 7,000 units of the Omni on an average. That's a good number and we would not like to let go of it. Our engineers are working to upgrade the Omni's engine to meet the new emission norms, so the Omni will not be phased out."
(Source : Business Standard)
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