[niranjanprabhu]

Originally Posted by bhpfaninblr

Good thread Niranjan.

GTO put it correctly that Suzuki is facing the heat for not enough spend on R&D. They have also prioritized short-term over long-term. They made some assumptions that have hit their market share. Instead of providing customers what customers want, they started assuming what customers should want like 'no diesel engine', 'no turbo petrol' etc.

Biggest challenges for Suzuki to regain market share:
- A competent diesel engine
60% of Creta/Seltos sales are diesel. They need the BS6 version of the 1.5 Diesel. That engine produced only 95 BHP but had a FGT. Even the same engine in the Brezza, Ciaz and S-cross with a BS6 version would increase sales
(A VGT could add 10 BHP at-least). Without a diesel engine, this market is simply going off
- Not manufacturing 1.0 Turbo and 1.4 Turbo engines in India
- Total absence in D1 segment
They need the Vitara in India. Along-with Tata, they have the agreement with Fiat to source the 2.0L Diesel. So that should be a good option for the Vitara
- Lack of a 6-speed AT
The 4-speed AT in Ciaz and S-cross is dated and from the Stone age
IMO, the biggest problem that Maruti is facing is the technology regarding diesel engine and auto gearbox. Depending on Toyota is no good when we look at the types of gearboxes and engines they have made available in India

Very well conceived and put together sir. Could not agree with you more about each and every point you have made here. Surprisingly they have both the 1.0 and the 1.4 liter turbo petrols in their international engine portfolio. They tried out the 1 liter turbo albeit timidly by reducing power from 110 to 10 BHP and bringing in the engine as a 100% import from Japan, in the Baleno RS. I think boldness is the need of the hour for Maruti. The more they sleep over these issues, the more they will damage their credibility in the higher and more profitable segments of the market

[niranjanprabhu]

Originally Posted by Carma2017

As far as I know, they have taken a very calculated gamble, depending on Suzuki brand reputation, to tide over 2 years without new launches even as Suzuki internally strives to develop new affordable tech for its target markets. Whether the best laid plans will play out as they hope is something that time will tell.

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

Maruti has a halo that's unmistakably the strongest, yet it's showing its limits - albeit gradually. They'll eventually wake up before their halo diminishes, with strong next gen (EV/ Hybrids). They have enough goodwill to falter for another 5 years at least.
.

Did you observe that the Maruti Swift refresh this year was hardly a refresh with even the alloys not being changed
They are taking risks based on their goodwill. Are they not?

[Carma2017]

Originally Posted by niranjanprabhu

Did you observe that the Maruti Swift refresh this year was hardly a refresh with even the alloys not being changed
They are taking risks based on their goodwill. Are they not?

The Swift refresh is not the product and power train refreshal I was talking about. Swift was a cosmetic nip and tuck job, that's it. Do not expect the first refreshed vehicles, as I meant it, before 2022. The upcoming Celerio is also is not in that league although it is a big product update.

[rbabar]

Great analytics. Even if there are planned facelifts of Mahindra products and some new launches by Tata and Nissan, it seems that there won't be much change in these percentages for next one year or even more.