Unsure of the marketability of the new light commercial vehicle (LCV) as it looks to tap the commercial vehicle segment for the first time, Maruti Suzuki has decided to delay the full-scale commercial launch to the next fiscal.
Mayank Pareek, COO for marketing & sales told FE that the company will first go for a pilot launch in select few markets in the January-March quarter of 2015, and based on the feedback the final launch date will be decided.
?This is a new market for us, so we have to first see who is the customer and what he wants from the product. We will do a pilot launch in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal and then launch it next year. We have not yet finalised that date,? he said. Industry sources said Ahmedabad, and some markets in the south could serve as ideal pilot markets.
Though a leader in the country’s 25-lakh units per annum passenger-vehicle market with a 45% share, Maruti is also planning to roll out an entirely separate sales network for its LCV that will feature both Suzuki’s first self-developed diesel engine (800cc) and a CNG power plant. The LCV, based on the Suzuki Carry platform, will be manufactured at the Gurgaon plant.
Maruti chairman RC Bhargava had told FE in May that the new outlets will be small and largely outside town. ?A separate outlet is enough, but the brand value of Maruti has to be leveraged. Depending on how many dealers we have in a city, we would chose two or three, and let them sell the LCVs though a separate outlet. Investments will be lower because it doesn’t have to be in the centre of the town; these will be on the outskirts where the demand is.?
He added, ?We do not want to mix our cars like the Swift at the same CV dealerships because the customer profile is different. The facilities will have to be different, salesmen will also have to have a different approach for those who do the trucking business.?
Maruti’s new LCV will mark a stepping stone into a territory that is currently dominated by Tata’s Ace family of LCVs, Mahindra’s Maxximo and clutch of other products from Ashok Leyland and Piaggio. Goods LCVs are traditionally used for intra-city transport and owned by small businessmen who often drive themselves. In rural areas, they is also used as passenger carriers but Maruti does not initially plan to offer such a version. However, the LCV market marked a steep fall of 18% last fiscal (FY14) to 4.32 lakh units and is yet to recover.