Maruti plans more SUVs, big cars: MD

New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki will boost its portfolio of

bigger cars

and

SUVs

as it tries to expand beyond its traditional stronghold of small cars. However, the success of Renault

Kwid

does worry the country’s largest car maker and it has started work on an all-new version of best-seller

Alto

.

Kenichi Ayukawa

, MD & CEO of Maruti Suzuki, said the company is enthused by healthy response to Ciaz sedan and Brezza city SUV.

“Originally entry cars had big volumes, but now people expect a little more premium cars. We have to prepare and respond to all these expectations,” Ayukawa told TOI. “The Indian customer is upgrading and expecting more premium vehicles.”

The company, which has a market share of nearly 47%, expects sales to grow by over 10% this fiscal, buoyed by positives such as good monsoon and pay bonanza for government employees.

Maruti had sold over 13 lakh cars in the domestic market last fiscal, while 1.2 lakh cars were exported. Ayukawa said the company is now gearing up to begin production in Gujarat from 2017 as it targets sales of 20 lakh cars by 2020.

The company’s two plants in Haryana — at Gurgaon and Manesar — can churn out 15 lakh cars a year, and Ayukawa said efforts will be made to increase this by 10% by adding a third shift in production. The Gujarat plant will add an additional 2.5 lakh capacity in the first phase, and a similar number will be added in the second phase.

However, Maruti’s hold in the entry segment has been challenged by Renault’s Kwid, which is selling 10,000 cars per month as against 18,000-19,000 Alto. Ayukawa admitted that the company needs to upgrade Alto, but added that Maruti’s strong sales and service network was a major reason behind retaining trust of customers on Alto. “We are planning a new-generation (version) of Alto.”

Policy flip-flops ‘not acceptable’

New Delhi: Maruti MD & CEO Kenichi Ayukawa said investments and confidence in the automobile sector will be impacted by policy flip-flops and sudden regulatory changes.

Speaking about the curbs on larger diesel vehicles in Delhi-NCR slapped by the National Green Tribunal and Supreme Court, he said, “It is very unpredictable and not acceptable. We cannot make investment in case of sudden rule change.” Ayukawa said the decision had surprised the company, though its vehicles were out of the purview of the move. “Lot of investment plans are impacted and internal strategies need to be changed.”


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