[Aditya]

Maruti Suzuki has announced that sales of its vehicles equipped with Auto Gear Shift (automated manual transmission or AMT) have crossed 50,000 units.

The Maruti Suzuki Celerio hatchback, which was launched in February 2014, was the first car in India to get AMT technology. The company then used the technology in the Alto K10 hatchback. Maruti claims that today, vehicles equipped with AMT account for 25% of the sales of the Celerio and Alto K10 put together.

The Celerio and Alto K10 are powered by a 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine that puts out 67 BHP and 90 Nm of torque. AMT-equipped vehicles are popular in markets like Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi.

The technology is said to offer the convenience of an automatic transmission with the fuel efficiency of a manual transmission. It is not as expensive as a conventional automatic gearbox. The system does not need a clutch to be depressed, which reduces the effort required to drive the vehicle, thus making the car relatively stress-free to drive in traffic.

Maruti Suzuki has set itself a goal of selling 2 million cars annually by 2020.

[Rajeevraj]

This is good to see. This AMT move by Maruti has single handedly been responsible to increasing the AT awareness in India. A reasonable premium over the manual and no drop in fuel efficiency means that 2 of the biggest concerns Indian buyers have with AT's are taken care off.

On top of it all, Maruti offers a 10 year 160,000 KM Warranty on the AMT variants. That itself goes a long way in reassuring the customers.

Something VW should learn from. You bring in something new and complex with a questionable history (DSG DQ200), garnering customer confidence is paramount. Nothing better than a long warranty to help gain that.

[The Rationalist]

Now is the ripe time for Maruti to bring in a better Automatic for the higher variants like, Swift, Baleno, Ciaz, S- cross and upcoming CSUV. Suzuki has a Swift CVT in Srilanka! Aspire and Figo are getting decent numbers of AT buyers. Hope Maruti doesn't wait eternally to launch CVT.

[ashwin489]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Something VW should learn from. You bring in something new and complex with a questionable history (DSG DQ200), garnering customer confidence is paramount. Nothing better than a long warranty to help gain that.

It is ironic that Maruti has used technology from other manufacturers to its advantage, while Fiat (magneti marelli AMT) and VW (DSG) have not taken full advantage of their own technologies.

While Fiat has not bothered to even plonk down its AMT in any of its regular cars, VW has not done anything to inspire customer confidence in its DSG. I think most businesses, if not all, are indifferent to customer opinions and are completely driven by their bottom line. If the bottom line dictates that the business has to give damn about what the customer wants or feels, only then will it give a damn.

As of now, it looks like VW India is happy with its bottom line and does not want to give a damn. Either that or VW India is run by a bunch of smug idiots. Sorry for going OT.

P.S: I have not bashed Fiat as much as VW, because keeping quiet is better than an unapologetic half-assed effort.

[nivatakavacha]

In the past, I've spent a good few years outside India driving automatics and it really is a no-brainer. Automatics are definitely so much more easier to ride. Especially in cities in India, Automatics provide that comfortable and stress free ride as compared to manual transmission cars.

This trend is only going to increase with more people opting for AT as compared to MT but I am only worried about one thing- the pleasure of driving.

In the west, many of the AT cars were brilliant to ride in, but in our country with mileage being very important and some really crazy gov rules, we are slowly removing that "pleasure of driving" with engines being lethargic, cars becoming smaller etc.

The next 10 years are actually interesting; one way or the other, we are going to see a lot of changes in the indian market.

[GTO]

Considering that deliveries started in February 2014, that's ~2,500 AMTs a month. Not bad at all, but still, far from the real market potential of this gearbox. Let it be introduced on best-sellers (like the WagonR, Swift & Dzire diesels etc.) and watch the sales skyrocket.

Most definitely the right gearbox for the masses.

Here's an interesting snippet from deccanherald.com:

For sure, by virtue of exposure to technology, the South has responded extremely well.

The acceptability of AMT technology is high in markets like Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and all Southern markets — Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kochi. Nationally, of the total Celerios sold in FY 2014-15, 35 per cent was AGS trim.

Some of the cities have shown above national trend such as Bengaluru (56 per cent), Kochi (53 per cent), Hyderabad (47 per cent), and Chennai (45 per cent).

[fz_rider]

Is it possible to convert gearbox on 800cc Alto from manual to AMT? There are aftermarket solutions, but I am asking about Magneti Marelli sourced one.
What all modifications are needed and does anybody know anyone who can carryout the job in Maharashtra or Hyderabad.

[Prodigy07]

Originally Posted by GTO

Let it be introduced on best-sellers (like the WagonR, Swift & Dzire diesels etc.) nd watch the sales skyrocket.

I believe Wagon-R and Dzire (in ZDi variant) already have AMT variants.

Just that Maruti needs to introduce it in Swift/Dzire Petrol variants.

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by fz_rider

Is it possible to convert gearbox on 800cc Alto from manual to AMT? There are aftermarket solutions, but I am asking about Magneti Marelli sourced one.

Yes it is possible, but with too many other part changes and modifications which makes it costlier affair. Safe bet is to trade your MT Alto with a brand new or Used Alto AMT.

[chncar]

The biggest issue with the adoption of automatics in India is that it isn't available on all variants (especially on the top variant with the best safety and features) with most of the cars. Quite simply, this rules out automatics as a buying choice for many people as it forces one to compromise - either on their choice of car, or their choice of variant.

With Maruti etc the problem is that they don't release automatics in top variants, and with Honda/Toyota (e.g City and Innova) its the reverse.

[abhishek46]

I wonder why Maruti is not coming up with it's own AMT box, instead of buying them from Marelli, given that the sales numbers are so high.

Secondly, I wonder how much does that AMT box cost in reality.

[humveeguy]

The cost difference for an AMT equipped unit is roughly 40,000 to 50,000 Rs for the end consumer. Hence, I believe the AMT box price should should lie around 20,000 to 25,000 Rs. The manufacturer then add other utilities like Creep function, Hill lock Assist, Manual mode which increases the product price a little bit more. It is out of question for Maruti to develop one, because AMT boxes are becoming cheaper to outsource from Bosch, Marelli and these companies have invested years to make to the perfection we see now.

Since the Tiago AMT is also out and not having a good report, Im in an eternal wait for the Maruti Brezza AMT with the 1.2 litre petrol . It was supposed to be released in April, but I dont see any reports even on the test mules in the forum . Does any one in the forum know when we can see the Brezza petrol automated vehicle on market ?

thanks
hg

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

I wonder why Maruti is not coming up with it's own AMT box, instead of buying them from Marelli, given that the sales numbers are so high.

Secondly, I wonder how much does that AMT box cost in reality.

Having tried the Kwid AMT and the TUV AMT, I can safely say that Magnetti Marelli have done a splendid job on their AMT. Though Maruti might be paying a price to MM for this, its better than coming up with their own contraption like what happened with the Celerio Diesel

The price charged for the AMT box is pretty realistic IMO since it involves quite some amount of electronics and hydraulics to get things going. There would be some premiums included in terms of margins, but nothing too high.

[drmohitg]

The same is also reflected in Baleno sales. I recently enquired about the Baleno CVT and was told that it has a waiting period of 6 months for the AT variant. The MT variant had a higher waiting still at around the 8 month mark. This was in Delhi.

[dailydriver]

Maruti faced a bit of flak for introducing the AMT in 2014. It was called a sub par automatic mechanism by drawing comparisons with CVT/DSG etc. However, as always, they had done their homework well and this is evident in the sales numbers. Auto Gear Shift (Maruti terminology) has turned out to be a boon in congested city traffic. Although there may not be any statistical evidence to back my claim, I seriously believe that at least half of the 50,000 vehicles are being driven by the members of the fairer sex. Maruti played a genius by not marketing it as a technology targeted at a specific group/gender. That would have resulted in Hero Motor's Why should men have all the fun? kind of fiasco that happened with Pleasure.

Of late, Maruti has started taking its role as the market leader quite seriously. They are introducing new technology, have created new segments and made inroads into segments that were out of reach for them for many years. The thickness (or the lack if it) of the sheet metal notwithstanding, they are slowly moving towards making their cars safer by including airbags and abs as standard/optional features across their models. They have, somewhere in their official hierarchy, a magic man blessed with the power of recognising the consumers' pulse. That is the reason why Maruti has succeeded in - to borrow from the title of another thread in the forum - outpacing the industry!