DriveBlog

Mark off May 27th...

...on your calendars. And in red, preferably. Because that's the date that seems to be on everyone's lips these days. As are various opinions on what the price tag on the Swift is going to be.

Update: Well, it looks like my Jamaican friend was right. This good piece on the reasons for the slow but sure emergence of the new B+ segment in India does in fact, confirm that the Swift will officially be launched on the 19th of May.

Respect for da' tip off, mon! =)

In youth we trust

More on the Swift. Hey, don't look at me...I'm just the messenger! =)

In an attempt to 'establish a connect' with potential buyers, Maruti will be using a dedicated, specially recruited sales force of young people to sell the Swift. Called 'energisers', these individuals will do everything from answering initial queries and assisting in the buying process to giving you service reminders and wishing your wife on her birthday!

At face value, the rationale seems to be two-fold. One: MUL ensures that by having such 'relationship custodians', it manages to stay that much closer in touch with the customer. Feedback on a project as vital to them as the Swift therefore becomes easier to source and act upon. Two: the Swift launch seems like it's going to be nothing short of a blitzkreig with Maruti pulling out all the stops, larger-than-life 'launch' included. An endeavour of this scale, crucial as it is, will need to be pulled off without affecting sales and existing customers of their other bread-and-butter brands. The solution? A dedicated, specially trained, fresh and raring-to-go bunch of just-out-of-their-teens waiting to make their mark on the new and exciting landscape that is the Indian car market today. Here's hoping that their enthusiasm turns out to be infectious.

It's also probably a smart move by Maruti to use youth as the 'face' of the Swift. Possibly the first 'attitude' product from their stable, they could be looking at establishing right from the start the perception that the Swift is young, hip and contemporary but means business and knows what it's doing...just like the guy who is selling it to you.

Also see:
Maruti's greatest hit.

One Swift update

OK, this is that post where I get done with posting the stuff that everyone's obviously looking for. It's also obviously the one that's gonna get me loads of hits from Google. =)

Yup, of all the car launches being looked forward to this year, this one, whether the folks at MUL like it or not, is being billed as the biggest. Pressure or what, like I've said before. But what exactly is it about this car that has every other car company chewing its collective fingernails and soon-to-be car owners holding out for just that month longer ?

Is it the fact that the Swift could be, quite simply, the best looking car ever to have to rolled off the Maruti / Suzuki shop floor? Is it that the launch of the Swift will create a new segment altogether, or add some more buzz to a segment that's been grabbing the imagination of the average Indian carbuyer of late? Or is it just that we're damned proud of the fact that for the first time, Indian automobile engineers are actually being involved in the design of a 'world car'?

Well, whatever the reason behind the excitement, one thing seems sure for the time being: you just can't have too much of the Swift.

Pic courtesy: IndiaInfoline.com

Also see:
A pinch of Jazz.
Fab, ya?

More millions for Maruti

It's settled, then...Maruti's 5 millionth is a red WagonR.

And the next time someone asks you how the Indian car passenger industry has changed over the past two decades, just point them towards this simple statistic: Maruti took a little more than 10 years to sell its first million cars. And in the next 10 years, it sold 3 million. It sold its final million (of the 5) in just the last 2 years.

Also see:
The WagonR VXi in a three-way hatchup.

What women want

So the next time the lady of the house expresses the need to be able to drive herself to the supermarket, remember that it's just not about getting from place A to place B. It's about 'mobility, empowerment and independence' (sic).

Love ya, Mom! =)

Also see:
Maruti's move to safen Indian roads.
The Official Maruti Driving Schools Website.

Bittersweet Maruti moment

You win some, you choose to lose some. Just as Maruti Udyog gets set to roll out its 5 millionth car - it could be a WagonR or an Alto - later this month, the company takes a brave decision to completely exit from the diesel passenger-vehicle market in India by stopping production of the Zen D and Esteem D.

Monday Top 5

If you're on the lookout for a car sometime in the very near future and happen to be someone who's determined to get the mostest out of your moolah (who doesn't, eh?), then here are truly five value-for-money deals - 4 sedans and one shoebox on wheels - that you might not want to miss.

Also see:
BS Motoring does the Maruti Versa (Download the .txt)

May may see Swift

Oooh! Things are about to get exciting all over again. Parent company Suzuki has approved Maruti's proposal to roll the Swift out by May. To be manufactured in only 4 countries across the world, the Swift will make it's global debut right here. Expected price - somewhere in the region of Rs. 4.5 Lakhs. It'll be interesting to note how Maruti finally prices it vis-a-vis the Getz.

Also see:
The global Suzuki Swift website.
Reviews, previews, call them what you will.

Will the M800 get its Mojo back?

Some interesting updates on a couple of car brands that pretty much are the opposite ends of the spectrum that is the Indian passenger car market.

DaimlerChrysler India will recall about 2350 E-Class, S-Class and SLK sports versions of their Mercedes Benz cars because of problems in the brakes and the software that controls the battery unit. Have there been any such large-scale recalls before in the Indian market?

Maruti's March sales are up, but M800 sales continue to head in the downward direction, as more and more customers find favour in its close cousin, the Alto. In fact, the 800-Alto battle is looked upon as a case study for cannibalisation of a company's car brands by its own new launches.

Ne'VAT'heless, the price tags on both the M800 and the Merc S-Class will get bigger - by Rs. 1000 and Rs. 2.5 lakh (do I honestly need to include the 'respectively'?). In fact, all of motown seems set for a new price regime - in some cases it's the regular April hike, in some cases it's VAT and in others, it's thanks to an increase in road tax.

India Shining, Maruti Rising

As part of a special issue on India's emergence as a global superpower, Outlook Magazine has Jagdish Khattar, MD of Maruti Udyog looking back on the decade that was and the one that will be for the Indian passenger car industry.

"If there is one example where competition and opening up have benefited industry, economy and the consumer, it is the Indian passenger car sector. Yet, the more things have changed, the more they retain the flavours of the past."

He also has a bit to say about how his company plans to address the challenges that he foresees cropping up in the years to come, not the least of which is competition from global auto biggies. But then, that's something that MUL's been doing, and doing well, for a while now.

Also see:
Do you know what your 'opportunities share' is?