Ambulance variants of the Omni, Gypsy & Eeco have been discontinued

mints21 · 3rd February 2018, 16:58

Maruti has sent communication to all their dealers informing them of their decision to discontinue both Maruti Omni 800 & Maruti Gypsy.

Dealers have been advised to liquidate all their stocks.

Maruti will stop billing the above models to the dealers wef 28th Feb 2018.

Note to mods: Pls merge this thread in case this has been discussed already on the forum.

Thanks to my birdie who prefers to remain anonymous for sharing this information.

Turbanator · 3rd February 2018, 17:21

Quote:

Thanks to my birdie who prefers to remain anonymous for sharing this information.

Gypsy, they are still taking orders, in fact, I have booked mine yesterday only

Edit: Just checked with my SA, there is no such communication that they are aware of. Only OMNI Cargo is not being produced.

starter · 3rd February 2018, 17:46

Mints21, buddy, are you sure of this news? Could you please confirm if this news is really true?
Cheers,
Deepak

Leoshashi · 3rd February 2018, 17:53

I have asked a couple of friends who own Maruti dealerships in other cities. They aren't aware of any such notice, atleast for Omni, which still sells in good numbers. They have promised to revert with details.

The only threat which Maruti Omni and Gypsy face( in addition to the EECO) is the upcoming BVNCAP crash tests, and Maruti can easily go around it by moving these models to their Commercial dealerships. I believe these norms are only for passenger vehicles.

Regards
Shashi

mints21 · 3rd February 2018, 18:00

Dear all,

I have just read the screenshot of the communication sent by Maruti which states Ambulance variants of Omni, Gypsy and Eeco have been discontinued. I have requested moderators to edit the thread accordingly.

Regret the inconvenience.

Doge · 3rd February 2018, 23:55

Omni Ambulance is ironic, that death trap trying to save lives!
A good and long awaited riddance.

Kenneth Keymer · 4th February 2018, 00:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doge

Omni Ambulance is ironic, that death trap trying to save lives!
A good and long awaited riddance.

Amen. But then again, I don’t see what else they could use apart from the Eeco now...since the number of fully equipped legitimate ambulances isn’t going to increase anytime soon and the price of one translates into a fleet of these smaller ones.

romeomidhun · 4th February 2018, 06:45

That means some kind of product optimisation is happening, and all high roof models are discontinued. It may be to reduce shift in product lines for low-selling models. The rumoured new Solio will be suitable for ambulance without any modification like high roof.

QuickLink · 4th February 2018, 08:14

Mod Note: There are several spelling & grammatical errors in your posts. This negatively affects the forum experience for other readers. Kindly ensure that you proof-read your posts prior to submission. Also, it would be a good idea to use a spell-checker. Thanks for the support & understanding

starter · 4th February 2018, 08:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Gypsy, they are still taking orders, in fact, I have booked mine yesterday only

Hey Turbanator,
Congrats on booking a Gypsy!!

Just a word of caution since it looks like a corporate booking.
I had booked mine last year and realized later that i would not be able to register it as a white board vehicle since it is an 8 seater vehicle .
Hope, it isn't an issue for you in your state.
Cheers and looking forward to the ownership review..
Deepak

Klub Class · 4th February 2018, 08:35

Excuse me for the slightly

post

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kenneth Keymer

But then again, I don’t see what else they could use apart from the Eeco now

I see many Tata Winger, Force Traveller, Force Trax, Mahindra Bolero XL etc as ambulances in my place

GTO · 5th February 2018, 11:12

When I saw the original thread title, I was

. The Omni & Eeco bread-boxes sell over 10,000 copies / month. That's huge profit on cars built from fully depreciated machinery. Plus, it helps Maruti maintain a relationship with a segment (e.g. cargo industry) that its regular cars could never have.

Similarly, the Gypsy helps Maruti maintain relations with the Defence Forces.

On discontinuing only the ambulance variants, I agree with Romeomidhun's post.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doge

Omni Ambulance is ironic, that death trap trying to save lives!

India is still a 'developing' country, buddy and budget is a restriction. Which other Ambulance costing 3.xx lakhs ex-showroom would you prefer for a family member? Take a look at the options in the price band and you'll see that they are all death traps. Forget ambulances, even when it comes to regular cars, safety usually starts at 6+ lakhs (Polo, Liva etc.) and they cannot be used as Ambulances.

sandeepmdas · 5th February 2018, 12:01

There's one more factor other than those that have been discussed here (cost/safety); it's the compact size of these three vehicles. These can be driven through narrow gaps in traffic, these can access narrow roads where only auto ricks and two-wheelers would dare to enter. Especially the Omni. I don't know the prevailing rates, but it is certainly cheaper to hire one too, when compared to the Traveller/Winger class.

The Gypsy, being a 4WD vehicle, also has it's own set of unique and inherent capabilities.

IMHO, this decision by MSIL is an ill-timed one, with a mega-billion "Modi-care" health coverage scheme is just round the corner, as promised in the union budget. We all know the MSIL director board has a proven track record of wise decisions and frankly, I don't think they would take such a poor decision.

Motard_Blr · 5th February 2018, 12:05

The decision might have something to do with this:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/nationa...le19678485.ece

If one major state bans the Omni, others usually follow.

ashutoshb · 5th February 2018, 12:22

A big thanks to the OP for the information, but it is irrelevant to most of us as it's only about the ambulance variants of the aforementioned cars.

Whatever the reason maybe, it is always good to let the Omni go. Even if, one variant at a time.

Apart from being unsafe (I am not sure how safe the Eeco is), it was slow.

I remember, me giving way to an Omni Ambulance once. But, on the next traffic stop, I had no other option but to overtake it, as it was painfully slow.

Yes, the reason for any hospital / clinic to go for the Omni would have been the cheap price. Medical equipment costs lakhs and lakhs of rupees. Why penny pinching, when it comes to the ambulances, where, to save a life, even seconds count.

The Eeco doesn't cost a bomb, but, then opening a clinic or a hospital isn't cheap either, I am sure they won't miss the Omni much.

3rd February 2018, 16:58	#1
mints21 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: India Posts: 840 Thanked: 1,409 Times	Ambulance variants of the Omni, Gypsy & Eeco have been discontinued Maruti has sent communication to all their dealers informing them of their decision to discontinue both Maruti Omni 800 & Maruti Gypsy. Dealers have been advised to liquidate all their stocks. Maruti will stop billing the above models to the dealers wef 28th Feb 2018. Note to mods: Pls merge this thread in case this has been discussed already on the forum. Thanks to my birdie who prefers to remain anonymous for sharing this information.
	(8) Thanks

3rd February 2018, 17:46	#3
starter Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,127 Thanked: 903 Times	Mints21, buddy, are you sure of this news? Could you please confirm if this news is really true? Cheers, Deepak
	(1) Thanks

3rd February 2018, 17:53	#4
Leoshashi Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: India Posts: 5,693 Thanked: 42,424 Times View My Garage	re: Maruti to discontinue ambulance variants of Omni 800 & Gypsy I have asked a couple of friends who own Maruti dealerships in other cities. They aren't aware of any such notice, atleast for Omni, which still sells in good numbers. They have promised to revert with details. The only threat which Maruti Omni and Gypsy face( in addition to the EECO) is the upcoming BVNCAP crash tests, and Maruti can easily go around it by moving these models to their Commercial dealerships. I believe these norms are only for passenger vehicles. Regards Shashi Last edited by Leoshashi : 3rd February 2018 at 17:57.
	(8) Thanks

3rd February 2018, 18:00	#5
mints21 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: India Posts: 840 Thanked: 1,409 Times	re: Maruti to discontinue ambulance variants of Omni 800 & Gypsy Dear all, I have just read the screenshot of the communication sent by Maruti which states Ambulance variants of Omni, Gypsy and Eeco have been discontinued. I have requested moderators to edit the thread accordingly. Regret the inconvenience.
	(8) Thanks

3rd February 2018, 23:55	#6
Doge BHPian Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: NCR/Turin Posts: 640 Thanked: 1,534 Times	re: Ambulance variants of the Omni, Gypsy & Eeco have been discontinued Omni Ambulance is ironic, that death trap trying to save lives! A good and long awaited riddance.
	(3) Thanks

4th February 2018, 06:45	#8
romeomidhun BANNED Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 3,282 Thanked: 4,876 Times	re: Ambulance variants of the Omni, Gypsy & Eeco have been discontinued That means some kind of product optimisation is happening, and all high roof models are discontinued. It may be to reduce shift in product lines for low-selling models. The rumoured new Solio will be suitable for ambulance without any modification like high roof. Last edited by GTO : 4th February 2018 at 11:16. Reason: Typo
	(1) Thanks

4th February 2018, 08:14	#9
QuickLink BHPian Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: New Delhi Posts: 30 Thanked: 20 Times	re: Ambulance variants of the Omni, Gypsy & Eeco have been discontinued Mod Note: There are several spelling & grammatical errors in your posts. This negatively affects the forum experience for other readers. Kindly ensure that you proof-read your posts prior to submission. Also, it would be a good idea to use a spell-checker. Thanks for the support & understanding Last edited by GTO : 5th February 2018 at 09:47.
	() Thanks $Received Infraction$

5th February 2018, 12:01	#13
sandeepmdas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Varkala Posts: 1,539 Thanked: 2,492 Times	Re: Ambulance variants of the Omni, Gypsy & Eeco have been discontinued There's one more factor other than those that have been discussed here (cost/safety); it's the compact size of these three vehicles. These can be driven through narrow gaps in traffic, these can access narrow roads where only auto ricks and two-wheelers would dare to enter. Especially the Omni. I don't know the prevailing rates, but it is certainly cheaper to hire one too, when compared to the Traveller/Winger class. The Gypsy, being a 4WD vehicle, also has it's own set of unique and inherent capabilities. IMHO, this decision by MSIL is an ill-timed one, with a mega-billion "Modi-care" health coverage scheme is just round the corner, as promised in the union budget. We all know the MSIL director board has a proven track record of wise decisions and frankly, I don't think they would take such a poor decision. Last edited by sandeepmdas : 5th February 2018 at 12:10.
	() Thanks

5th February 2018, 12:05	#14
Motard_Blr BHPian Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Bangalore Posts: 732 Thanked: 1,369 Times	Re: Ambulance variants of the Omni, Gypsy & Eeco have been discontinued The decision might have something to do with this: http://www.thehindu.com/news/nationa...le19678485.ece If one major state bans the Omni, others usually follow.
	(4) Thanks

5th February 2018, 12:22	#15
ashutoshb Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: NOIDA Posts: 1,760 Thanked: 4,291 Times View My Garage	Re: Ambulance variants of the Omni, Gypsy & Eeco have been discontinued A big thanks to the OP for the information, but it is irrelevant to most of us as it's only about the ambulance variants of the aforementioned cars. Whatever the reason maybe, it is always good to let the Omni go. Even if, one variant at a time. Apart from being unsafe (I am not sure how safe the Eeco is), it was slow. I remember, me giving way to an Omni Ambulance once. But, on the next traffic stop, I had no other option but to overtake it, as it was painfully slow. Yes, the reason for any hospital / clinic to go for the Omni would have been the cheap price. Medical equipment costs lakhs and lakhs of rupees. Why penny pinching, when it comes to the ambulances, where, to save a life, even seconds count. The Eeco doesn't cost a bomb, but, then opening a clinic or a hospital isn't cheap either, I am sure they won't miss the Omni much.
	() Thanks