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| Maruti rings down curtain on Baleno Byas Anand [ INDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK ]WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2006 03:19:08 PM  NEW DELHI: India’s largest car maker Maruti Udyog is slamming brakes on its upper-end mid-sized car Baleno. The company is discontinuing production of Baleno to make way for its new premium segment car - code-named YY4 - which is slated to hit the Indian roads by April next year. Sources close to the development said Maruti - which has closed its plant for the annual maintenance shutdown - is not expected to restart production of Baleno when the plant reopens in the first week of January. “There are some limited stocks left with the dealers and efforts are underway to clear this inventory,” a source said. Company officials were not available for comments despite repeated attempts. Meanwhile, sources said the decision to discontinue Baleno was taken in view of the pending roll-out of the new sedan, which will be the costliest made-in-India Maruti Suzuki car till date. Maruti Suzuki Baleno This new vehicle - which will be pitted against the Chevrolet Optra and Toyota Corolla in the premium mid-size car market - is being build from scratch by Maruti and Suzuki engineers. Though the firm is yet to finalise brand name for this new vehicle, sources said there has been a line of thinking within Maruti to do a Zen encore and use Baleno badge for the new mid-sized car too. “However, there are some others who feel that the Baleno badge should be laid to rest and not used on the new car given the brand’s not-so-inspiring performance in the Indian car bazaar,” a source said. Baleno was first introduced as a premium segment car, sporting a tag of close to Rs 8 lakh. However, the car failed to attract much demand and the company later slashed its tag to around Rs 5.6 lakh - a move that resurrected the brand in the domestic market. This would be the third model being discontinued by the company after the original Zen (and the Zen Classic) and the Alto VXi (sporting a 1.1-litre engine). The new car - with a nearly Rs 8-9 lakh price tag - will be positioned in the fast-growing premium sedan market, which has witnessed an 80% growth in 2005, outpacing all other segments. “The car is being developed on an all-new platform and is being engineered from scratch by a team of Indian and Japanese engineers. This will mark a big image change for Maruti , which has till now been identified as being a small car maker,” a source said. |
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Originally Posted by ramie2400
(Post 345668)
I have heard that the new baleno will be with a price tag of 8.5-9.7L? anyone any guess about the correct price and the pic of the new baleno. |
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Originally Posted by GTO
(Post 345670)
Come to think of it; the Baleno and the Vitara are the only two Marutis that never sold. Can understand the Vitaras problem with its near-20 lakh pricing but the Baleno was a pretty decent buy at 6 lacs. An insider says that the new Baleno is not as driver-oriented as the old one (NHC vs OHC). I hope that hes wrong. |
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Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR
(Post 345771)
Baleno sold better than Versa, and vitara... Balno, though not a hit, was certainly not a flop... By the way, after all the offers... the baleno starts at 5.5L... Its unbelievable VFM now... Just 20- 30 k above esteem... |
| Balno, though not a hit, was certainly not a flop... |
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Originally Posted by iraghava
(Post 345780)
Baleno was a flop when it was initially launched with a high price tag pitting it against the OHC. It is only after the drastic price cuts that it started selling. |
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Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR
(Post 345771)
Maruti knows to price its cars right... Proof, the swift and the estilo... Baleno sold better than Versa, and vitara... I think the two flops from maruti were versa and Vitara... Balno, though not a hit, was certainly not a flop... By the way, after all the offers... the baleno starts at 5.5L... Its unbelievable VFM now... Just 20- 30 k above esteem... |
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Originally Posted by GTO
(Post 345670)
An insider says that the new Baleno is not as driver-oriented as the old one (NHC vs OHC). I hope that hes wrong. |
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Originally Posted by shuvc
(Post 346694)
Well as per this months ACI, the new one weighs 225kilos more than the outgoing model .. with the same 1.6 engine having to pull the extra weight .. straight line acceleration probably won't be what it was .. |
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Originally Posted by jkdas
(Post 345833)
maruti learned it the hard way :) most became a Baleno fan after they reduced its price! Baleno was the only car maruti was selling at a loss. |
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Originally Posted by shuvc
(Post 346694)
Well as per this months ACI, the new one weighs 225kilos more than the outgoing model .. with the same 1.6 engine having to pull the extra weight .. straight line acceleration probably won't be what it was .. |
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