Reference Auto

Well, it’s almost identical to the WagonR (except for the front portion) and more expensive, so does Maruti Suzuki need to tom tom the launch of the Stingray and will buyers actually think it’s a fresh offering or an upgraded WagonR?

The compact car Stingray carries a price tag of between Rs 4.1 lakh and Rs 4.67 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi prices). The Stingray, which is propelled by a 998 cc petrol engine, would come in three variants and the company will also roll out a CNG version soon (may be in about a year).

The engine comes with a five-speed manual transmission. So far as power and performance go, the WagonR and the Stingray have 67.1 bhp @ 6,200 rpm power with a torque of 90 Nm @ 3,500 rpm.

With the Stingray, Maruti Suzuki is banking on the youths ahead of the festive season but will the youths be attracted to a new version of the WagonR, which is Rs 20,000 dearer compared to the current model?

“The roll out of the Stingray is in tandem with our strategy to provide new and refurbished models to our customers to stir up the marketplace. The Indian auto industry has been in the grip of a meltdown but the car buyer continues to buy Marutis,” Maruti Suzuki India managing director and CEO Kenichi Ayukawa averred.

Maruti Suzuki will have nine models in its compact car stable, he said, putting to rest any speculation that the WagonR would disappear from the market.

"We have sold nearly 1.3 million WagonRs since its launch in December 1999. We are doing an average of about 12,000 cars a month," he added.

But if the Stingray and WagonR co-exist, then they would eat into each other’s markets or cannibalisation would take place in a big way.

With the government planning to put a levy on diesel vehicles, Maruti has launched this petrol car as it feels that people would revert to petrol cars sooner or later.

In July, Maruti Suzuki saw an almost 11 per cent increase in domestic sales at over 63,000 cars. But car sales in the country fell for a record nine months in a row in July, which is a growth decline of 7.5 per cent.

The changes in the Stingray (when compared to the WagonR) include a sleek chrome-finished grille, large air dams along with refurbished fog lamp housings.

The most glaring change in the Stingray is the projector headlamps, which have been introduced for the first time in the compact category.

Other exterior improvements include gunmetal grey coloured alloys, roof mounted rear wing, side skirts and a chrome back door garnish with ‘Stingray’ embossed in bold.

In the interiors, the Stingray comes with all-black theme interiors with tilt adjustable leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls, Stingray branded seats, instrument cluster with blue background and electrically adjustable outer mirrors along with power windows.

Also, there is a multi information display which gives insights into the distance the fuel would last, instant and average fuel efficiency. There is also an audio system with in-built USB and AUX support.

So, from the design, car buffs could be under the impression that the Maruti Suzuki Stingray is just another WagonR and this may affect its sales.