Maruti is planning hatchback onslaught to stay ahead in the game of numbers.
Entry-level cars contribute to the maximum amount of sales in the Indian market. Hatchbacks have around 50 percent of market share in India. While Hyundai is coming with an all-new Santro on October 23 and Maruti prepping up for new Wagon R. A total of seven entry-level car launches are planned over the next three years.
Maruti’s entry-level cars are the highest selling vehicles in India. The company is planning to launch the new Wagon R by January 2019 and a new version of the Maruti Alto 800 by 2020. The Tata Nano was expected to be a game changer but the compromise in quality made the car a failure. The Datsun redi-GO and the Renault Kwid created a good interest at first but couldn’t sustain for a longer time.
There are many companies including Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen and Honda, who launched their entry-level cars but could not sustain in the market and decided to either exit or position the cars at higher prices that didn’t end up in good volumes. On the other hand, Maruti says that entry-level cars can never go away.
According to the analysis, more than 50 percent buyers of the Hyundai i20 and the Maruti Swift are the first-time car buyers. The cars like the Honda City and Hyundai Creta receives almost one-fifth of first-timers.
Maruti Suzuki dominates the entry-level car segment and has covered nearly 80 percent of the market. The company’s network has covered 3,50,000 of India’s 6,40,000 villages over the last decade.
In the next two years Maruti will launch three new hatchbacks to boost their sales and keep them well ahead of the competition. First up is the new gen Wagon R that will be launched soon with a whole new design, interiors and features. The other two hatchbacks include the Alto K10 and 800 twins in their new gen avatar which are expected to be launched by 2021.
Maruti Hatchback Lineup
– The new Maruti Wagon R will be launched by January 2019
– The all-new Maruti Alto 800 will be launched by 2020
– Maruti has covered nearly 80 percent of the entry-level car segment
Source – ETAuto.com
