The clash at Manesar plant of Maruti Suzuki has resulted in a loss for the company. The production has stopped and the most sought cars – DZire and Swift went out of stock. The waiting periods are really long for these cars. Although bookings continue, unavailability of the stock and long waiting periods have changed the minds of many a customers who have shifted to Maruti Suzuki’ s competitors. In a bid to get back its share and boost volumes, Maruti Suzuki is banking on its new offering, the Alto 800.
A replacement for the current Maruti 800, the new Alto 800 whose launch was delayed will now be rolled out as per schedule. Priced at around Rs. 2,00,000/-, it would compete with the Hyundai Eon and Tata Nano. The car would be rolled out of the Gurgaon plant of Maruti Suzuki. The company is zeroing on the sales to increase during the festive season and thus, the Alto 800 would be launched sometime around Diwali. Perhaps, the hopes are high on this new product which could pull Maruti Suzuki’s petrol sales out of the slump. The Manesar lockout has already resulted in a loss of Rs. 2000 crore.
Also, the company is looking at boosting sales through the Alto. The sales of the Alto CNG variants have picked up considerably over the last few months and the Alto continues to be the largest selling model for Maruti Suzuki. Even though the sales of the Alto are down around 45%, the vehicle still brings in lots of profits for the company. India’s largest automaker has plans of launching the Alto CNG variant in those states where it does not have presence. The Manesar plant is expected to be functional soon but it won’t happen this week. Tough security will be placed as the work commences and police protection has been taken at the plant.
