Maruti slashes
prices, introduces new variants
Tribune News Service
NEW DELHI, Dec 30 —
Maruti Udyog Limited today slashed prices of its popular
car models-Maruti 800, Zen D and Omni-as part of its
strategy to expand its volume in the Indian market and
keep emerging competition at bay.
Ushering in, what the MUL
Managing Director, Mr R.S.S.L.N. Bhaskarudu described as
the "Second Automobile Revolution" in the
country. The announcement about the reduction in prices
came a few hours before the Tatas were to make public the
price of the much awaited ‘Indica’ model in
Mumbai.
Under the new price
scheme, the price of the popular Maruti 800 standard
(ex-showroom Delhi) has been reduced by Rs 24,632 and the
Maruti 800 deluxe version by Rs 11,127. A new variant
called the M800 Ex has been introduced which would have
radial tyres and coil spring suspension. It has been
priced at Rs 209,627 (ex-showroom) in Delhi.
The cars at the new prices
would be delivered in the first week of January.
A new variant has been
introduced in the Zen category-Zen LX and it has been
priced at Rs 295,000. The variant comes equipped with an
airconditioner and heater. There is no change in the
price of Zen VX.
The diesel version of Zen
D will now come cheaper by Rs 36,808 at Rs 426,052
(ex-showroom Delhi).
Omni E, the eight seater
version of the van, will now cost Rs 179,993 in Delhi, a
reduction of Rs 17,051. The price of the five-seater
version-Omni 5 — has been reduced by Rs 6,998 and
would be available for Rs 198,029 in Delhi (ex-showroom).
The prices of the up-market Esteem models and the
multi-utility vehicle, Gypsy, remains unchanged, as
according to the manufacturers these models underwent
value addition worth several thousand rupees only last
year and it was not passed to the customers.
The introduction of the
Zen LX variant is apparently to meet the competition
posed by Hyundai Santro, which has been priced at Rs 2.99
lakh. The other models of the Zen have been so positioned
to make them competitive against the other models of
Hyundai Santro and Daewoo Matiz. The other variants of
Santro are priced at Rs 3.49 lakh and Rs 3.69 lakh
respectively, while the Daewoo Matiz is priced at Rs 3.55
lakh.
Mr Bhaskarudu said the
company had decided to reduce the price of the various
models of Maruti as the Indian automobile market was
facing a recession and there were not enough buyers.
"Our decision to
reduce prices has nothing to do with competition and it
has been done more with a view to make the automobile
market grow by making the cars available to a larger
number of Indians", he said.
He said when the Maruti
introduced the popular "peoples car" 15 years
ago, it was only tapping the latent demand. This now
needs to be supplemented by tapping new segments of the
Indian market, increasing volumes, thereby reducing costs
and sharing the benefits with the customer.
Mr Bhaskarudu said the
M800 has been positioned to significantly expand the
market, stimulate demand and bring into the four-wheeled
market a whole new generation of two-wheeler owners.
He said Maruti as a market
leader had to take the initiative to bring the automobile
industry in the country out of the sluggish phase.
Mr Bhaskarudu said the
reduction in the prices of Maruti models had nothing to
do with the introduction of Tata Indica. Till the time of
making the announcement, Mr Bhaskarudu said he had no
idea about the pricing policy of the competitor.
Maruti Udyog Limited is
already producing 200,000 vehicles in its two plants at
Gurgaon and with the commissioning of the third plant in
February the capacity would go up by another 100,000.
As of now, the company has
had to cut production as there are not enough buyers for
the cars.
About the fate of
thousands of customers, who bought the Maruti cars at old
prices till yesterday, Mr Bhaskarudu said in a marketing
situation such things do happen.
The Joint Managing
Director of the company, Mr Jagdish Khattar, however,
said the old customers would have benefitted from the
various incentives offered by Maruti in its 15th year of
celebrations. Maruti dealers have been offering various
schemes, including a gold coin, as part of the
celebrations.
The following are the
ex-showroom prices of the various models of Maruti in
Delhi:
| Model |
New
Price Rs. |
Old
Price Rs. |
| M800 |
184,995 |
209,627 |
| M800
EX |
209,627
|
—
|
| M800
DX |
235,058
|
246,185 |
| Zen
LX |
295,020
|
— |
| Zen
VX |
346,193
|
346,193 |
| Zen
D |
426,052
|
462,860 |
| Omni
5 |
198,029
|
205,027 |
| Omni
E |
179,993
|
197,044 |
|
