CEO and Managing Director, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, Shinzo Nakanishi poses in front of Maruti Suzuki's new car the Swift DZire during its launch in New Delhi on March 26, 2008.(RAVEENDRAN/AFP/Getty Images)
New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki Ltd. on Wednesday launched its new car model, Swift DZire, with introductory price ranging between Rs 4.49 lakh and Rs 6.70 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), aiming to consolidate its position in the bigger car segment.
DZire, the seventh model Maruti Suzuki has launched in the last three years, comes in both diesel and petrol variants and is powered by 1.3 litre engine.
The petrol variants are priced between Rs 4.49 lakh and Rs 5.90 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), while the diesel ones are priced between Rs 5.39 lakh and Rs 6.70 lakh.
Maruti Suzuki India Managing Director and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi said the new entry-level sedan would play a strategic role in strengthening the company's position in the entry level sedan segment.
"It has a special place in our product strategy. Millions of Indians own compact cars. With growing incomes and better lifestyle, many of them want to upgrade to a sedan. But today, they are not able to find an entry-level sedan that offers style, features and performance. The DZire offers all this, and at an attractive price," he said.
With the Swift Dzire, competition in the lower A3 segment is expected to hot up in the segment, which currently is dominated by Mahindra Renault's Logan and Tata Motors' Indigo.
Tata Motors offers its lowest sedan model Indigo CS between Rs 3.66 lakh and Rs 4.34 lakh, and the Indigo XL going up to Rs 7.38 lakh. Logan petrol version starts at Rs 3.89 lakh and goes up to Rs 5.02 lakh, while that of diesel begins with Rs 5.72 lakh and going up to Rs 6.63 lakh.
Nakanishi said the company would be focusing on the Indian market only with the Swift DZire. He, however, declined to comment on the company's expected sales of the new car.
"All I can say is this will help in strengthening our leadership in the Indian car market," he said.
The DZire, which offers features, including integrated stereo, steering mounted audio controls, automatic climate control, power windows and dual airbags, has come as replacement of MSI's earlier midsize sedan Esteem.
source-ibnlive.com
