Maruti Suzuki India Limited: The company that shaped Indian cars

When I think about Maruti Suzuki, the first thing that comes to my mind is the red colored Maruti Suzuki 800 car. It is an icon of the Indian automobile industry. Maruti Suzuki India Limited is the company that first mass produced cars in India and sold more than one million cars. It remained the leading Indian automaker for more than twenty years. Setup in 1981 with Indian government having a 18.28% stake and Suzuki Motor Corp. of Japan 54.2% stake, Maruti Udyog Limited started production in 1983. As of May 10, 2007, Indian government sold its entire share to various local financial institutions and on September 17, 2007, the company changed its name from Maruti Udyog Limited to Maruti Suzuki India Limited. Headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, near Delhi, it is the leading automaker in India and one of top auto makers in terms of volume of cars sold and revenue in South Asia. Today, Maruti cars are not only sold in India but also in other countries. Models similar to Maruti Suzuki cars are made and sold by Suzuki Motor Corp. in Pakistan and other South Asian countries.

Manufacturing facilities:

Maruti currently has two manufacturing facilities- one in Gurgaon, and the other in Manesar South of New Delhi. Spread over 300 acres, the Gurgaon facility has three fully integrated plants. It can produce 3,50,000 cars per year but productivity improvements enabled the facility to produce 700,000 cars per year. The facility has 150 robots of which 71 are developed “in-house.” The Gurgaon facility also has ‘K’ engine plant and it has the capacity to produce 2,40,000 engines per year. The unit was commissioned in 2008. The ‘K’ engine facility was part of a Rs.90 billion investment plan jointly taken over by Maruti Suzuki and Suzuki Motor Corporation. The Gurgaon facility employs many state-of-the art technology used by renowned auto producers around the world.

The Manesar facility, located in Manesar, South of New Delhi, was launched in 2007. It has a vehicle assembly plant with a production capacity of 100,000 units per year and a diesel engine plant that can produce 100,000 engines and transmissions. The combined capacity of the two plants is more than 700,000 units per year.

Products:

Currently Maruti Suzuki produces fifteen models. They are:

Minivan

Maruti Omni: It is a microvan. The first version of Maruti Omni, Omni (E), was released in 1996. It has 796 cc engine like the one used in Maruti Suzuki 800. It had 8 seater capacity.

Maruti Versa: The second microvan from Maruti Suzuki. Basically a clone of Suzuki Every Landy. There are two basic versions of this car- the 8-seater DX/DX2 versions, and the 5-seater STD version. The car entered the Indian market in October 2001. About seventy percent of its parts are made in India.

Luxury sedan

Maruti Esteem: The Maruti Esteem is the popular sedan car of India. For a long time, the car was used by the affluent Indians. It was a reliable car with a powerful engine and low maintenance cost. Maruti stopped production of the model in late 2007 and Maruti Swift Dzire took over its place.

Maruti Baleno: It is the first luxury car produced by the company. It was made to compete with Honda City and Mitsubishi Lancer. In Japan the car was called Cultus. The car could not become so popular for its high price.

Maruti Swift Dzire: Launched on March 26, 2008, the Maruti Swift Dzire is the new entry level sedan. The project started back in 2005. The goal was to create a “three-box notchback version” of the Swift. The car competes with other entry level sedan models such as the Mahindra Renault Logan and the Tata Indigo. It weighs 30-35 kgs more than the Swift. Few modifications were made to increase the comfort of the rear passengers.

Maruti Suzuki SX4: Another stylish sedan from Maruti Suzuki launched in 2007.

The car is equipped with 1.6 litre gasoline engine. The car measures 4,490 mm in length and 1,735 mm in width. The car comes with adjustable outside rear-view mirror, 15inch large wheels, arched bumpers and wrap-around head and tail lamps. In the 10^th Indian Auto Expo a Prussian Blue Pearl SX4 hatchback will be on display.

Hatchback city car

Maruti 800: A small compact city car and the flagship product of the company. The Maruti 800 is a rebadged version of Suzuki Alto. The car was first produced in 1984 and remained the top car in India till 2004. More than a million units of Maruti 800 has been sold around the world. Because of the iconic status of the car in India the term, “Maruti,” is used to refer to this car model.

Maruti Alto: It is the Indian version of Suzuki Alto. The car was first released on September 27, 2000 in India. The car went on to become one of the best selling hatchback cars in India. Since 2006, Maruti Alto is India's largest selling car. In February 2008, the car crossed the 1 million production figure and became the 3^rd Maruti car to cross the million mark in India after Maruti 800 and Maruti Omni.

Maruti Ritz: Another hatchback city car from Maruti launched on May 15, 2009. In the International market, the car was sold as Suzuki Splash. Jointly developed by Suzuki and Opel, the was introduced as a concept car at the 2006 Paris Auto Show as the Suzuki Splash. The car is made to appeal th young generation. It focused on style, design, mileage and luxury.

Maruti A-Star: This is the first environment friendly hatchback produced from scrapped parts of various cars. This car does not have harmful materials like mercury, cadmium and lead. The Maruti A-Star is available in three categories- Maruti A-Star Lxi, Maruti A-Star Vxi and Maruti A-Star Zxi.

Maruti Wagon R: The Maruti Wagon R is the Indian version of Suzuki Wagon R, one of the most popular cars in Japan. Launched in 1993, the Suzuki Wagon R is still widely produced by Suzuki. “R” stands for recreation. The Wagon R used “tall wagon design.” Recently, the car has been revamped and shed the boxy look. The car was launched in India in 2001. Though it was the first car based on “tall-boy design,” it was not the first car in India but the Hyundai Santro Xing.

Maruti Zen Estilo: Maruti Zen Estilo is the rebadged version of Maruti Zen. “Estilo” is a Spanish word, which means style. The car was set to compete with Hyundai Santro, Tata Indica. From the design perspective, you can call it a stylish Wagon R. The car was launched in December 2006. The new Maruti Zen Estilo is targeted toward those people who want a stylish, good looking and a comfortable car at a reasonable price.

Maruti Swift: Maruti Swift is a stylish hatchback compact car featuring Common Rail Direct Injection (CRDI) technology. The car is run by a DDiS engine which is produced at the company’s Manesar plant. The car was launched in India in 2005. The car is equipped with six on-board computers to give highest performance and the engine is designed to perform at low and mid-range speeds.

SUV

Maruti gypsy: The Maruti Gypsy is a low cost four wheel drive SUV. The design of the vehicle is based on the Suzuki Jimny SJ series. The jeep is also widely used in Chile, Kenya, Malta and Hungary. Available in “soft top,” “hard top,” and “ambulance car,” the Maruti Gypsy is used by the Indian defense force and police forces.

Maruti Grand Vitara:This luxury SUV can run on both on city roads and rough roads and is cheaper than Honda CRV. The vehicle is packed with all the luxury features including power windows, locking doors and mirrors. It also has remote entry system and adjustable steering.

Trivia:

• In 2007-2008 session, Maruti Suzuki produced 7,64,842 cars. Of these, 53,024 were exported.
• Maruti Suzuki annually exports more than 50,000 cars and sales more than 7,30,000 cars in India per year.
• On December 14, 1983, the company rolled out its first production car. Since then, it produced more than six million cars for Indian consumers.
• Through 2004, Maruti produced more than 5 million vehicles.
• More than 50% of the shop floor employees are trained in Japan.
• More than half the cars sold in India, belongs to Maruti Suzuki India Limited.
• The company is listed on National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange in India.
• Maruti Swift was the largest selling car in A2 segment.
• Maruti Swift, Maruti Swift dzire,Maruti A-star and Maruti SX4 are maufactured in Manesar. Grand Vitara is imported from Japan as a completely built unit (CBU). The remaining models are manufactured in Maruti Suzuki's Gurgaon Plant.
• Not only Maruti is famous for its cars but also as employer. In India, for young engineers and managers, Maruti is the most favorite employer. About 75000 people are directly employed by Maruti and its partners.
• Another major reason, for Maruti’s success is its high quality customer service. For ten years in a row, the company came out as the number one for customer satisfaction among Indian car makers in an annual survey conducted by J. D. Power and Associates, a reputed marketing research firm.
  
  

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Joys of Life: The theme of Maruti Suzuki at the 10th Indian Auto Expo

In the 10^th Indian Auto Expo, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. is going to unveil it’s first compact multi-purpose vehicle concept, Concept R3. The car has been designed and built by a team of local engineers in a time span of nine months and will be very much different from the existing products of Maruti Suzuki family. This new car will serve as a milestone for Maruti Suzuki, for it is entirely produced in India. Maruti was the company that first mass produced cars and revolutionized the Indian auto sector.

At the 9^th Auto Expo in 2008, Maruti’s theme was “Colors of Life” and at the 10^th Auto Expo, Maruti Suzuki will adopt the theme ‘Joys of Life’ which is an extension of the former. Both the themes very much relate with Suzuki Motor Co.’s global corporate philosophy, 'Way of Life.'

At the expo, the Maruti also booked the largest space of 4700 sq meters. In the expo, the company will also celebrate its twenty six years of business. Suzuki will display seventeen new cars including the “exclusively imported” Suzuki Kizashi.

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Maruti Suzuki Official website

The new Maruti Grand Vitara has come to India

On July 4, 2009, Maruti Suzuki released its latest version SUV Maruti Grand Vitara. The first Grand Vitara was launched by Suzuki in 1999. The 2009 rand Vitara will be available with a 2.4 liter petrol engine in both manual and automatic transmission. Till date, Suzuki sold more than 2.5 million Grand Vitara all over the world.

The new Grand Vitara comes in two different engines. For the first time, it will be available with a four cylinder engine. The second option is a powerful V6 engine larger than the one used in Grand Vitara in 2008. The 3.2 liter V6 engine is bigger and more powerful and it offers great fuel economy. Mayank Pareek, Executive Officer (Marketing & Sales) Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. said that Grand Vitara is one of the strategic models in Suzuki range and the new Grand Vitara 2.4 is the best SUV in its class that is available at a highly competitive price. The new Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara is priced at Rs. 16.67 lakh.

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Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. observed sales increase in June 2009

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL), the top passenger car maker of India, registered a 22.6% increase in its June sales, the company reported on July 1, 2009. This is the sixth straight monthly sales rise for the company. In June 2009, the Maruti sold 75,109 units against 61, 247 units in June 2008. Out of this amount, the company exported 13,336 units. It is also the highest monthly export volume in the history of MSIL.

This growth was led by the companies A2 segment cars like Alto, Wagon-R, Zen, Swift, and A-Star and its newly launched Maruti Ritz. The Maruti A-Star hatchback was launched in November 2007 and received great response in Germany, the UK, Netherlands, Spain, and France. Maruti Suzuki launched Maruti Ritz in May 2009.

Sales in the A2 segment increased 22.2%. In total, the company sold 46,156 units in this segment in June 2009 against 37,767 units in June 2008. Sales in the A3 segment comprising of SX4 and D’Zire grew 5% and C segment sales fell 1.1%.

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Maruti Suzuki’s new car will have Maruti Zen Estilo, WagonR, Alto-M800-A-Star, and Ritz platform

Few months ago, news came out that Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL) is going to launch a car entirely made in India. Well, for the time being, the company is not going to produce any new Indian car. Due to its insufficient engineering strengt, MSIL decided to build the new car on its existing platform of WagonR, Zen Estilo, Alto-M800-A-Star and Swift Ritz. Only after the success of this car, the company will think of developing a car entirely in India and if everything goes well, then Suzuki Motor Corp. will outsource its entire small car operation in India.

Developing a new car from the scratch is quite expensive. Developing the platform of a new car makes up a significant portion of the entire production cost of the car. More over, the Indian car market could not fully recover from the economic recession. At such a critical situation, Maruti is trying its best to save money.

The development process of the car started more than a year ago at MSIL’s R&D facility in Gurgaon and by 2010, the company is looking forward to deploy one thousand engineers in the project. According to Maruti Suzuki officials, they have already finished the basic sketch of the car and working on other aspects of the design and in talks with machinery parts suppliers.

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Maruti Zen Estilo is getting revamped for the Indian audience

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. is one of the top small car makers in India.

Maruti Zen Estilo is one of the popular sub-compact cars produced by the company. If you are one of those people who are looking for a small family car, then the Maruti Suzuki Zen Estilo is the ideal car for you. It is small, comfortable and comes with features that not only fulfill your needs but also provide great comfort.

Maruti Zen Estilo is the upgraded version of Maruti Zen which was launched in 1993. Maruti Zen has been promoted by the company for more than fifteen years. The word “Estilo” is Spanish. It means style. Though compact, Estilo is quite spacious. Maruti Zen Estilo was first unveiled on December 6, 2006 at Gala fashion show. In 2008, a sports edition of the car was released. Though dubbed as sports edition, there were no major upgrades. It was more of a facelift to revive the sliding car sales.

The Maruti Zen Estilo is a mixture of Suzuki MR Wagon and Wagon R. It has got MR Wagon’s shape and Wagon R’s engine. The car has a monoform design which has been further modified in several steps. The car design followed the “tall boy philosophy.” In addition, to create more leg space in the front, the engine space has been decreased but it did not change the car’s performance. Simple yet elegant, the Maruti Zen Estilo is a car that will make your city driving a pleasant experience.

There is another great news for Maruti Zen Estilo buyers. Maruti Suzuki is going to revamp all its cars including the Zen Estilo. Maruti is going to fit its 1.5 litre K-series engine in the car. The move comes in the face of meeting the Bharat IV emission norms by the Indian government that will come into effect from April 2010. The new K Series engine is a very fuel efficient engine. If offers high mileage at lower fuel consumption. The 1.1 liter K-series engine produces around 67 bhp.

Currently available in three variants- LX, LXi, and VXi, the Maruti Zen Estilo competes with Hyundai Santro, Tata Indica, Maruti Swift and other subcompact cars in the market.

Dimensions, weight and color:

• Length: 3495 mm.
• Width: 1475 mm (LX, LXi), 1495 mm (VXi)
• Height: 1595 mm.
• Kerb Weight: 855 kg (LX, LXi), 875 kg (VXi)
• Gross vehicle weight: 1275 kg.
• Colors: Champaigne beige, Bright red, Pearl silver, Midnight black, Superior white.

Other specifications:

• Turning Radius: 4.6 m
• Seating capacity: 5 persons.
• Tyre type: Tubeless
• Tyre size (LX & Lxi): 145/70 R13
• Tyre size (Vxi): 155/65 R13
• Fuel tank: 35 liter
• Steering type: Electronic Power Steering (LXi and Vxi)

Engine

• Engine type: F10D
• Engine capacity: 1061cc
• Max Power (bhpm): 64 @ 6200 RPM
• Max Torque (Nm): 84 @ 3500 RPM
• Number of cylinders: 4
• Transmission: 5–speed manual transmission.
• Drive: 2WD
• Clutch type: Cable
• Front brake: Ventilated disc brake.
• Rear brake: Drum brake.
• Wheel Base: 2360 mm.
• Front tread: 1295 mm.
• Rear tread: 1290 mm
• Ground clearance: 165 mm

Suspension System:

• Front suspension: McPherson Strut with Torsion type roll control device
• Rear suspension: Coil Spring, Gas filled shock absorbers with three link rigid axle and isolated trailing arm.

Safety features:

• The Maruti Suzuki Zen Estilo comes with many safety features:
• SRS Airbag (Drive Side) & Anti-lock Braking System(ABS) (available in VXi only).
• Back Door Defogger (available in VXi only).
• iCATS (intelligent Computerised Anti-Theft system) security system.
• Side Door Beams
• High Mount Stop Lamp
• Rear Door Child Lock
• Front Wiper

Security features:

Central door locking system (available in LXi and Vxi)

Steering lock

Exterior features:

• Body coloured bumpers (available in LXi and VXi only)
• Body coloured side door handles (available in LXi and VXi only)
• Body coloured outside door mirrors (available in LXi and VXi only)
• Body side moulding (available in VXi only)
• Body coloured back door handle (available in VXi only)
• Black out film (available in VXi only)
• Front fog lamps (available in VXi only)
• Wheel Cap
• Antenna

Interior features:

• Moulded side door trims
• Moulded back door trim
• Moulded floor carpet
• Front seat adjustable head restraint
• Rear seat adjustable head restraint
• Front seat back pocket for driver seat
• Three spoke steering wheel
• ABC pillar trims

Console features:

• Centre Console with Cup Holders.
• IP Pocket.
• Ash Tray
• Lights - off and key reminder chime (available in VXi only)
• Tachometer (available in VXi only)
• Accessory Socket (available in VXi only)

Comfort features:

• Power windows (available in LXi and VXi only)
• Power steering (available in LXi and VXi only)
• Remote Keyless Entry System (available in VXi only)
• Front Door pocket
• Internally Adjustable Outside rear view mirror
• Air Conditioning
• Vanity Mirror
• Grip Assistant
• Four speakers attached to side doors.

Price:

Zen Estilo Lx - 3,19,403

Zen Estilo Lxi - 3,48,403

Zen Estilo Vxi - 3,73,403

Zen Estilo Vxi with ABS - 4,02,403

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Maruti Ritz price: Some Information

(This entry was originally uploaded on May 2009.)

One day before the declaration of the poll results, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) launched its latest hatchback model premium car, Maruti Ritz. Designed to compete in A2 market segment, Maruti Suzuki Ritz will compete with Hyundai i10 and upcoming Hyundai i20, Skoda Fabia, Ford Fusion, Fiat Palio and Tata Indica Vista. India is badly hit by economic recession which also affected the car sales in the country. Even Maruti Suzuki, which remains the top company in terms of volumes of sales, saw a drop. Now, to give a boost in its line up, the company launched Maruti Ritz, a premium compact car. The car comes in five versions, three petrol variants- LXi, VXi and ZXi and two diesel variants — LDi and VDi. The base price for petrol engine Maruti Ritz starts from Rs.3,90,000 to Rs.4,80,000. On the other hand, the diesel version is priced between 4.65,000 and 4,99,000 in the national capital.

I tried to know more about the price of each variant but after visiting the official website, I found out that the price of Maruti Ritz is different in different cities. If you want to know the price of Maruti Ritz in your city then visit this link:

http://www.marutisuzukiritz.com/Ritz_Price.aspx

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