India auto industry update (Part 7): Maruti and Suzuki
As a provider of dealer management systems to automobile dealerships in several emerging markets, we closely follow what happens in the auto industry in key regions around the world. I thought it might be interesting to share some of that information.
In the world's major markets, auto sales are slowing at the same time that competition increases, so global auto manufacturers are setting their sights on big emerging markets like the BRIC countries: China, Russia, Brazil and India.
This series briefly discusses the promising future of the automotive industry in India. We've already looked at what GM, VW, Honda, Ford, and Renault-Nissan. Today we'll take a look at the current king of cars in all of India...
Maruti Udyog, or Maruti Suzuki, in India
Maruti Udyog is the undisputed king of the auto industry in India, as they own a whopping 54% slice of the market, mainly thanks to their low cost cars. Japanese carmaker Suzuki owns a majority share (54.2%) of Maruti. They sell 500,000 cars a year in India, and export another 30,000.
The company has just announced their new name: Maruti Suzuki India Limited.
Their success has been thanks to extremely succesful models like the Maruti 800 (a million sold worldwide) and its succesor, the Alto, now India's top seller.
A little history... The Maruti 800 sparked the automotive revolution in India with the launch of a modern, fuel-efficient, low-cost car, at the same time that India's middle class began to grow. Maruti's incredible success also ignited the creation of India's component industry.
To top all of this off, Maruti also leads year after year in J.D. Power's annual customer satisfaction survey.
Maruti also owns Insurance and Finance endeavors in India.
Maruti's low-cost car for India
Maruti is virtually synonymous with the term low-cost car. In fact, the term "People's Car" which is currently used in India to signify the car with the lowest possible price, was born hand in hand with the creation of Maruti Limited in 1981.
Business Week says Maruti Udyog is now working on lowering the cost of its base Maruti 800, which currently sells at $4,130 and is today the cheapest car in India, to compete with Tata's own "People's Car" which will supposedly appear in 2008 for just $2300.
Models in India
Maruti Udyog offers eleven models, between its own and those of parent Suzuki, in India:
Plant plans
Suzuki will be investing some $650 million to expand capacity, manufacture diesel cars, and build a new plant in Manesar, in northern India. This plant will build a compact car together with Nissan. Output will reach one million units by 2010.
Jagdish Khattar, CEO of Maruti Udyog, recently said that the company wants to export over 200,000 cars by 2010.
Posts in this series:
- Part 1: Overview
- Part 2: GM in India
- Part 3: VW in India
- Part 4: Honda in India
- Part 4b: Honda in India, two-wheelers
- Part 5: Ford in India
- Part 6: Renault-Nissan in India
- Part 7: Maruti Suzuki in India
- Part 8: Hyundai in India
- Part 9: Toyota in India
- Part 10: Tata Motors in India
Tags: India, auto industry, automotive industry, India auto industry, Maruti 800, Maruti Alto, Maruti Ovni, Maruti Gipsy, Maruti Zen, Maruti WagonR, Maruti Versa, Maruti Esteem, Maruti SX4, Suzuki Swift, Suzuki Grand Vitara, Maruti Udyog, Maruti Suzuki, Jagdish Khattar
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