Maruti eyes bigger pie in large cars' market

Maruti Udyog, which controls more than half of the country's passenger car market on the strength of its dominance in small cars, has embarked on a strategy to increase its share in the bigger car segments.

It is gearing up to launch two new models "" mid-size SX4 and Grand Vitara "" in three to four months.Grand Vitara will be made in India.The sports utility vehicle is currently imported as completely built units.

SX4 is a mid-size car expected to be sold for Rs 7-8 lakh and may be launched in the first half of May in three variants.

In the domestic market, it will be pitted against Honda City, Hyundai Verna, Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Aveo and others. The mid-size segment has been growing at a healthy rate and now constitutes 17 per cent of the market.

"The company wants to change its image with the SX4 launch and will feature it as a clean upmarket car. With the development, Suzuki will also attempt to move from being a compact car giant to a complete carmaker across different segments," said a Maruti executive. The company's spokesperson refused to comment.

The India-made Grand Vitara is slated to hit the market in July or August. Manufacturing in India will enable the company to bring its price down from the current Rs 19 lakh to Rs 11-12 lakh and position it against the likes of Ford's Endeavor.

"Despite being the largest car company, Maruti has dated models such as Esteem and Baleno. The new models will strengthen its position and help it take advantages of the high growth in the premium car segment," said Huzifa Suratwala, research analyst, Emkay Share and Stock.

Esteem has witnessed 3.3 per cent drop in sales to 27,283 units between April last year and February this year.

The company sold merely 6,034 units of Baleno in the nine months to December last year, compared with 11,083 units in the last financial year.

The SX4 sedan is being perceived as Baleno's replacement, though the company executives say the two have nothing in common.