To P or not to be P

Maruti's SX4 has received a good reaction from the market and first month sales have actually surpassed the Honda City's. But then, this blog is not about celebrating the sales of the SX4. It is about what lies in Maruti's future.

In the hysteria of the SX4 we have forgotten about the new three-box car under development on the Swift platform. Sources indicate that the car would be up for launch by March 2008. I assume that the same petrol and diesel powertrains that power the Swift hatchback will power the three-box version as well. Though the diesel may come with a variable-geometry turbo.

In the pipeline is also the Model P, the replacement platform for the Alto, though knowing Maruti the current Alto will stick with us for a long time. The Model P will come out of the Manesar plant and Maruti will export 150,000 units to Europe, plus a 50,000 Nissan badged ones and heavy domestic consumption. That's what will keep the big Manesar plant busy for some years. The Model P debuts in October 2008.

In addition, Maruti has been toying with the idea of introducing an MPV / people carrier. Nothing concrete there. But the Grand Vitara is a go and will be in market in a couple of months.

Deepesh Rathore
Research Editor
deepesh.rathore@supplierbusiness.com

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