Maruti eyes bigger slice of pie with new Alto 

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) launched a new version of Alto on Tuesday as it tries to thwart rivals attempts at eroding its market share in the entry-level segment in the run-up to the festive season, which normally sees a 20 per cent jump in sales .

Sales of Maruti's entry-level models have been down 21 per cent so far in the current fiscal year hit by rising competition from rivals such as Hyundai's Eon, Tata's Nano and General Motor's Spark.

The petrol variant of the new Alto has been priced at Rs 2.44 lakh and will go up to Rs 2.99 lakh as compared to the price of the current model at Rs 2.49-Rs 3 lakh.

The company appears to be selling a better model at the same price to stave off competition. The new car also promises a 15 per cent better fuel efficiency at 22.74 km per litre.

The CNG Alto has been priced at Rs 3.19 lakh-Rs 3.56 lakh as compared to Rs 2.97 lakh-Rs 3.48 lakh for the existing one. MSIL claims that the CNG variant has a fuel efficiency of 30.46 kilometre per kg.

Compared to this, the Eon is priced between Rs 2.75 lakh and Rs 3.81 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). "Our engineering team has made many innovations to offer more space, improve driveability and safety to customers," Shinzo Nakanishi, managing director, MSIL, told the media here. The new petrol model offers 15 per cent greater fuel efficiency, he said.

MSIL, controlled by Japan's Suzuki Motor, has had over 10,000 pre-orders for the new Alto since bookings were opened in late September, Nakanishi added.

On growth, Nakanishi said, "We are expecting to grow three to five per cent this fiscal. High petrol prices are impacting our sales badly as most of our best-selling models are in this mode.

The company had earlier projected a growth of 10 per cent during 2012-13.

Courtesy: Mail Today