Now, SX4 gets six-pack abs

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: Maruti Suzuki is making a fresh bid for the leader’s slot in the premium A3 category. The company has re-launched one of its more expensive models in the segment, the SX4 sedan, with the advanced variable valve timing engine technology, the one available with the Grand Vitara, plush upholstery and spruced up interiors. And of course, a new price: between Rs 6.68 lakh and Rs 7.71 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for the manual variant and for Rs 8.02 lakh to Rs 8.36 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for the automatic gear version. The earlier model of the SX4, which has been discontinued, was priced at Rs 6.46 lakh to Rs 7.48 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

With this, Maruti Suzuki is looking to improve the numbers for the SX4 which debuted in India in May 2007. “We will be happy to make around 2,000 units of the new SX4 per month,” says Shashank Srivastava, chief general manager, marketing (all brands), Maruti Suzuki. The old SX4 was doing 1,300 to 1,400 units per month. Last year, it sold close to 14,000 units. “Obviously, if we compare the SX4 sales with, say, the Honda City, it’s obvious they are doing better than us. This is the reason behind the re-launch, and we do believe that the number would go up substantially.”

By all accounts, SX4’s early performance did stir up the premium A3 category. In May, July and August of 2007, the sedan left behind category leader (four years running) Honda City in sales. According to figures supplied by the company, in its first five months, the SX4 sold more than 15,000 units—logging an average of 3,000-plus units a month.

That’s a big deal really. For a company that has a stranglehold about 55% of the passenger car market in the country, Maruti has a 35% share in the A3 (sedan) segment. Mind you, that 35% may look small but it’s a big jump from the 15% share the company had in the segment two years ago, just before the launch of the SX4.

Currently, Maruti Suzuki is the leader in the A3 segment, but history shows that small high-value cars is Maruti’s forte. Of course, the company had the Esteem and the Baleno in the sedan category, but they could never quite break into the big league.