Reference Auto

The Rs 4 lakh-Rs 5 lakh car market in India is set to witness a good deal of activity with Maruti Suzuki planning to bring in a new Swift in mid August to take on the likes of Toyota’s Liva, which has been very aggressively priced from Rs 4 lakh, but with this new car, Maruti could see a growth slowdown in the segment.

The new Toyota car has seen many takers and received over 1,500 bookings in the first three-four days.

Also, with Honda planning to bring in the Brio in this hatchback segment, it will intensify the slugfest further. The new Swift was unveiled globally about a year ago.

The growth-driver Swift is set to witness modest modifications and would come dear, almost Rs 10,000 more than the current model, which comes at a starting price of around Rs 4.10 lakh (for the petrol version).

Even with the new version, the company may see many flocking for the new Swift, owing to the Maruti Suzuki brand name.

But with more and more cars cramming this segment, the big question that comes to mind is whether Maruti Suzuki can hold on to its market share.

General manager (sales and marketing) of Maruti Suzuki, Shashank Srivastav, said competition was intensifying in the Rs 4 lakh-Rs 5 lakh hatchback segment and Maruti is keen to grab over 50% share here.

“This is the largest segment of the country’s market and all car makers want to play a dominating role here,” he added.

Even though Maruti Suzuki clearly has an edge, it will be an uphill task for the car maker to capture 50 per cent of the market as there are a litany of players offering big discounts, price cuts and astounding features that are slowly drawing prospective buyers towards such cars, including the Ford Figo, Hyundai i10 and i20, Volkswagen Polo, GM Beat and the recently-launched Toyota Liva.

Anticipating this intense competition, Maruti has introduced some changes in the new Swift, both in the interior as well as exterior, and hopes this move will help rev up sales.

Besides being what the company dubs as more “sporty”, the new model will be a tad longer and wider than the current Swift and will come with a 40 mm longer wheelbase that will offer more legroom and stability.

According to the company, the new petrol engine is slated to be more powerful and will offer substantially higher fuel efficiency.

The new Swift will come with a plastic fuel tank that will have certain advantages such as lower vehicle weight (almost 25 per cent less). It will also make the car crash and fire resistant and corrosion resistant.

The engine will be the same as the existing Swift, which has 1,200 cc petrol and 1,300 cc diesel engines.

The car has been a leader in the segment and contributed a big chunk to Maruti Suzuki’s revenue. The Swift, which rolled out in 2005, has sold a whopping six lakh cars till date.

But with the new model, which will be costlier than the current Swift, Maruti Suzuki can surely dominate the market, but with this segment seeing new models almost every other day, it would be very difficult for the company to retain its growth momentum in the medium to long term in this burgeoning category.