After successfully conquering Europe with its hatchback A-Star, the country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), is turning its eyes to the South East Asian market with its latest compact car Ritz.
The company today made the first shipment of 500 units of Ritz to the Indonesian market.
"Indonesia is a prime destination for Ritz. On Wednesday, the first lot of 500 units of Ritz, sporting 1.2 litre petrol engine are being dispatched to Indonesia," a senior company official said. Ritz is available in two variants-1.2 litre petrol and a 1.3 litre diesel engine.
MSI, which had originally launched the compact car for the domestic market, said Ritz will be basically targeted at the South East Asian markets and hopes to make it a poster boy of its overseas sales.
The move to target South East Asian markets with Ritz comes on the heels of its flagship export model A-Star crossing the one lakh units mark for exports in December, within 11 months of starting overseas shipments.
The A-Star is exported to 44 countries, predominantly in Europe, along with Philippines, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
"A-star and Ritz represent important steps by an Indian company to emerge as a car manufacturer with global appeal. It is in line with parent Suzuki Motor Corp's vision of turning India into a global hub for compact cars," the official said.
MSI already has a comparatively goods market in Indonesia with a cumulative export of 11,145 cars of various models so far.
