[Leoshashi]

Maruti Suzuki slashes the price of Baleno RS variant by 1 Lac Rupees. Got this screenshot from a friendly dealer:



I believe this is the stock clearance sale. As per my sources, the Boosterjet Variant won't be upgraded to BS6.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Good move! This has certainly been the biggest negative for the car. Except for questionable safety and build quality, of course.

I'm more interested to know why this move suddenly. Unlikely that it could be due to poor sales - as Baleno regular variants are bringing good numbers for MSIL. Did they manage to localise the 1.0 Boosterjet?

And if so - can we expect it in more products like the Brezza facelift, instead of the 1.5 K series motor?

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Good move! This has certainly been the biggest negative for the car. Except for questionable safety and build quality, of course.

I'm more interested to know why this move suddenly. Unlikely that it could be due to poor sales - as Baleno regular variants are bringing good numbers for MSIL. Did they manage to localise the 1.0 Boosterjet?

And if so - can we expect it in more products like the Brezza facelift, instead of the 1.5 K series motor?

From whatever I know, the Boosterjet engine won't be upgraded to BS6. So this is stock clearance sale most probably. Had also read about reports of Baleno being discontinued in some country(was it UK?).

[fhdowntheline]

The 1.0 Boosterjet is Marutis only attempt at having any sporty /performance oriented products. It will be sad if the engine will be discontinued .

[ram87pune]

So Maruti launched the S Cross with the enthusiast friendly 1.6 Multijet and then discontinued it citing lack of response from the customers. Same thing is maybe happening here.

I wonder when VW says that 40% of their Polo customers are going for GT trims then why are they giving a cold shoulder to Maruti's performance oriented products? Or do customers associate Maruti with only "kitna deti hai" tag?

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Maruti Suzuki slashes the price of Baleno RS variant by 1 Lac Rupees. Got this screenshot from a friendly dealer:

Attachment 1918489

I believe this is the stock clearance sale. As per my sources, the Boosterjet Variant won't be upgraded to BS6.

Don't think many are really interested in the RS irrespective of the price reduction or not. It has had a short run with sales.

We Indians do not appreciate Maruti for giving us Hot Hatches. S Cross 1.6 was a downer whereas slapping a chrome face and giving a frugal engine brought in the numbers.

There is news of VW too slashing the prices by almost 50k. If they do it on GT as well then that would be some news and not this!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

We Indians do not appreciate Maruti for giving us Hot Hatches.

It is Maruti that does not appreciate what these cars do to its image. Cars like the S-Cross 1.6 & Baleno RS aren't about sales or the bottom-line. They are marketing exercises & greatly help to bolster Maruti's image in the eyes of opinion makers. Cars like these also add some spice & colour to otherwise mundane showrooms.

If the Baleno RS is going to be discontinued, that's just an incredibly stupid move.

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by GTO

It is Maruti that does not appreciate what these cars do to its image. Cars like the S-Cross 1.6 & Baleno RS aren't about sales or the bottom-line. Cars like these also add some spice & colour to otherwise mundane showrooms.

I don't think MS need to do that. Their segment is not in Hot Hatches. Once an owner of a Nexa Dealer told me that Baleno RS was preferred over the normal Baleno because it had no long waiting period. Baleno had a minimum wait period of 22 weeks whereas RS was readily available. Above this, RS 'looked' better than the normal Baleno.

People who are genuinely interested in hot Hatches really don't turn their attention to Maruti and Maruti should not be worried about it. We are just negligible percentage of car buyers.

Nexa was launched to differentiate from their otherwise mundane showroom which now is Arena.

[landcruiser123]

I truly hope this isn't the end for the Baleno RS. Along with the S-Cross, it was truly a good upgrade for MSIL.

Originally Posted by GTO

They are marketing exercises & greatly help to bolster Maruti's image in the eyes of opinion makers.....

I believe the engines (boosterjet and 1.6 MJD) were imported and that drove up the price of the car. Guess the product planning/management were unaware of the market conditions or unwilling to move away from the kitna deti hai pholosophy. Indians appreciate powerful engines in cars as shown from the Verna diesel/City Petrol/VW TSI etc prove that.

I think local assembly of the two engines would have been possible if the Ciaz been sold with 4 engine strategy like the Verna(had!) and the Brezza could have had the 1.0 boosterjet as the petrol option to have higher volumes and to amortize the cost of setting up the assembly. Of course, this is wishful thinking and easier said than done!

[arindambasu13]

Good move. the RS is a capable car with all the strong points of the 1.2 Baleno with a nice rorty motor added to the mix to make it appealing for enthusiasts. As usual, the Indian market has treated the RS with a very tepid response due to the perceived high price, nevertheless, the fact remains that it is a fairly quick, competent and fun to drive car. With the price cut, this should be a better value for money proposition. Wonder what is the current price on road after the price cut.

Does anyone have the on road prices for Bangalore? If I recollect right, with the price cut this should be a sub-10 lakh rupee on road car.

[ashenoy]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

From whatever I know, the Boosterjet engine won't be upgraded to BS6. So this is stock clearance sale most probably. Had also read about reports of Baleno being discontinued in some country(was it UK?).

Isn't this the 1L Boosterjet supposed to be sold internationally and imported into India ? If so, is this engine going off the shelves abroad too ? If not, why no BS6 version ?

[Leoshashi]

While the DDiS 320 was a genuine attempt by Maruti to bring some options to the table, the Baleno RS happened only because they were already importing engines from Japan for export models. Back in those days, Baleno had some crazy waiting period and they looked at this opportunity to get some extra volumes and profit(whichever way you wish to think). If they were genuinely interested in providing fun/option to the customers, they would have launched Swift and Brezza along with this engine way back. Look how they are suffering due to lack of petrol engines in the Brezza.

This proves the Baleno RS happened because it was already in production for other markets and didn't need any special investment.

Not many people know, but Maruti was interested in building an RS model lineup through their NEXA channel. The Baleno RS was the first of that plan. Not sure what discouraged them.

I agree with GTO that such models are more for the image upliftment and not merely volumes. How many M models does BMW sell compared to its regular models? Please note that I'm not comparing the two brands, but such models are always options and not form the primary bulk of the sales.

The reason behind discontinuing DDiS 320 wasn't only sales. It was very sensitive to fuel quality and service field reports weren't encouraging either. Plus Maruti anyways had their E15 Diesel engine coming.

But I hope the Boosterjet engines stay and are localised. That can pave way for a lot of exciting models. Swift 1.0, 1.4(aka sports), Brezza 1.0, S Cross 1.0 and 1.4, Upcoming mid size SUV etc. They have such huge lineup of cars that volumes can never be a hindrance for some new engine.

I'm somewhat hopeful about its future because the Kia/Hyundai group are betting big on their GDI engines, and they are the only threat to Maruti today. Once Grand i10 Nios comes with a Turbo Petrol option, Maruti will have to bring a Swift to counter it. Only Hyundai can knock some sense in them now!

Originally Posted by ashenoy

Isn't this the 1L Boosterjet supposed to be sold internationally and imported into India ? If so, is this engine going off the shelves abroad too ? If not, why no BS6 version ?

UK was one of the main markets where Suzuki used to sell their Indian made car with that Boosterjet engine. Rest all other markets like Indonesia, Australia, South Africa etc got the Baleno with K14B 1400cc petrol. Suzuki UK discontinued Baleno and Celerio a few days ago, and I'm now not sure if the production from India will continue.

Regards,
Shashi

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

--

I believe this is the stock clearance sale. As per my sources, the Boosterjet Variant won't be upgraded to BS6.

This engine is also used/ were used in EU and other developed markets, so why does it become difficult to make it BSVI compliant ?

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by volkman10

This engine is also used/ were used in EU and other developed markets, so why does it become difficult to make it BSVI compliant ?

This is one question which only Maruti can answer. The word from almost all showrooms I have interacted with is that the RS won't be upgraded to BS6. Whether its a rumour, or volumes related decision or something else, only time and Maruti can tell. But if this engine isn't going to be discontinued, why will they officially slash the prices? The only other possibility coming to mind is localisation which doesn't look practical considering the volumes its managing currently.

Whatever it is, it will be sad to see this little engine going, and I hope it continues in BS6 guise.

[Vulken Auto]

Did any one realize Baleno rs is no more on nexa website. This cut is definitely a clearance sale.