With 19 per cent growth in Punjab market during first six months of year 2014-15, Maruti-Suzuki has reversed the industry trend as competitors? showed negative growth of 17 per cent during this period.
Jitender Singh Dhindsa, Regional Manager, Maruti Suzuki India Limited told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of its mid-size premium sedan Ciaz here today that the company at present has 54 per cent share of total market in Punjab. He informed that from April to August,2014, the company had 40 per cent market share in Chandigarh. He said that the industry had a de-growth of 9 per cent in Chandigarh but Maruti Suzuki had growth of 30 per cent during this period in Chandigarh. The highest selling vehicles from the company included Alto, Swift, D? Zire and Ertiga.
Dhindsa said that the recent pre-launch bookings of Ciaz indicated that it had received a very positive response as people in Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar and even Bathinda cities in Punjab had come out in large number to book the new sedan. He said that the company has close to 54 per cent share of market in Himachal Pradesh too.
Executive Officer, Pankaj Narula who was present on the occasion told media persons that Ciaz had many new features which cars like Honda City and Hyundai Verna lacked. He said that the ex-showroom price of Ciaz in Chandigarh would be Rs 7.05 for entry level model in petrol version while it would be Rs 8.10 lakh for diesel version. The top model in petrol version with automatic gear system would cost Rs 9.43 lakhs while the diesel version top model would be priced Rs 9.88 lakhs in Chandigarh.
Narula said that Ciaz has been designed keeping in mind aspirations of a mid-size premium sedan customer. A complete package, the Ciaz offers European styling, premium rich interiors and a host of upmarket features. Ciaz Diesel is India’s most fuel efficient car. Company sees Ciaz as the preferred upgrade by compact cars owners. Built on a brand new platform Ciaz is the longest and one of the widest sedan in its class for which the Company along with its vendors have invested Rs. 620 crore towards development of this model.
Pankaj Narula said that in addition to strengthening its presence in the domestic market, Maruti Suzuki plans to export the Ciaz to markets in the Middle East, Latin America and Africa regions. He said that the 1.4 litre petrol engine delivers a class leading fuel efficiency of 20.73 kmpl while1.3 litre diesel engine returns fuel efficiency of 26.21 kmpl making it India’s most fuel efficient car. He added that with the launch of Ciaz, SX4 is being taken out of production.