Maruti Suzuki is currently striving in the Indian market to maintain its market share, as some of its products sales are fading down and their product portfolio lacks some crucial segments including compact SUV segment, which is gaining momentum in the auto industry at present. In order to regain market share in the near future, Maruti Suzuki has planned a new hatchback and a new sedan for the Indian market to replace the slow selling models like the A-Star, Estilo and the SX4 sedan within a year’s time.
The first offering will be a hatchback, codenamed YL7, which is likely to be launched at the 2014 Delhi Auto Expo. The hatchback under works will be developed on the company’s small car platform and will replace the A-Star and Estilo eventually. The upcoming hatchback will have improved cabin space as well as a larger boot to compete with the likes of Hyundai i10. The upcoming sedan in talks, codenamed YL1 will replace the SX4, which is not doing well compared to much accomplished rivals.
The new sedan will be based on the same platform as the SX4 and will be designed with styling elements derived from the Authentics concept, showcased at the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show. The Honda City and Hyundai Verna are eating big chunks of Maruti SX4’s sales, hence the plan to launch an upmarket sedan, which will be positioned above the Maruti Swift DZire. The upcoming Maruti sedan will hit the showrooms next year in May. Apart from the two fresh offerings, Maruti Suzuki is rumoured to launch a premium version of the WagonR (Stingray) in the coming months and a new compact SUV based on the XA Alpha concept early next year.
Source – LiveMint
