[S.MJet]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

6) As of now, there is no evidence in monthly sales numbers to prove that SAFETY sells. Maruti will make safer cars if there is change in regulations.

Agree will all you points including safety. But 'safety doesn't sell' holds good only for Maruti.

We all know one of the major contributor of Tata's rise in PV segment is safety.

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Let me take the other side:

1) Maruti is a giant in India sure. But parent Suzuki is tiny when compared to Hyundai/Kia, VW/Skoda & SAIC. Except in Japan & South Asian countries, Suzuki is a struggling manufacturer. One cannot expect Suzuki to refresh their product range, invest in engine technology etc at the same pace as other players.

Thanks for this. I am relieved!

We need to remember that Maruti has been in this boat twice at least in my lifetime. Remember the Esteem, Zen era where they kept peddling old designs and architectures for few years while the competition launched the Getz, Sail and what not? Then came the Swift and suddenly the wonderful competition was dead as a duck except for Hyundai.

The second phase in the era of SUVs - Ford Ecosport, Duster were all making merry. Everyone was thinking this is it Maruti is "khatham". Along came the Brezza and competitors were "khatham." Hell, VW was unable to make so much as a dent in Maruti's premium hatch segment. Not having diesel engine is cited as a shortcoming. But the Brezza still tops the sales charts with the petrol only engine option. Engines do not really matter as long as they do the job. If in doubt talk to sales people about the sales of the Hyundai/KIA 1.4 GDI and the Venue/NIOS/Sonet 1.O GDI.

So let us not underestimate a company that is still owning close to 50% of auto-sales in India.

New product launches are not the key. They are simply a strategy. And companies like Tata and Mahindra need it desperately because they are not Hyundai or Maruti. That's all they've got. Remember the Indica. 1,00,000 bookings. And where did it go. That was the pinnacle. It all went down from there. Let's see where Tata and Mahindra are in another five years before we pass judgement on their brilliance. So far based on what I have seen the fundamentals are still circumspect. Maruti won't be suddenly blind. I am sure they are paying as much if not more attention to what is happening around them. We have already seen news on the new Celerio, the Baleno a new family of SUVs. And still we feel that they are sitting on their heels just because they don't engage or participate in the product launch arms race happening now.

Our attitude to Tata and Mahindra should be very simple. Rather than vociferously applaud their every launch as if they have one the Olympics when in reality they have only won a district championship we should give them a pat on the back, some applause and then point them to the world and say - I am waiting for you to conquer that. I want to see them become the next Hyundai/KIA rather than create a buzz once in a while and then fade away. The cycle repeats.

Someone mentioned the Ertiga, Brezza and Spresso being the mainstay of Maruti's sales. Apparently the Baleno was forgotten. In August it did 15,000 to the i20s 7000 odd. That's the range of SUVs and cars from 0-10 lakhs sorted out.

The point is calling time on such a brilliant manufacturer is premature. Even with the current generation the S-Cross, Baleno, Ertiga/XL6 offer solid value. Just because we all shout loud and hard that does not change. The Wagon R still does great numbers and so does the Swift. Elon Musk has said that the auto business is one of the toughest businesses in the world. So let's give credit where credit is due. I do not believe that Maruti has suddenly lost it's mojo. If I were the competition I would be nervous at the silence given past experience. And use the time to cover deficiencies with respect to Maruti. They are the automaker that convinced the world that we are a genuine automotive market not Tata or Mahindra.

Drive on,
Shibu

[Livnletcarsliv]

Here are my 2 cents as I have a different opinion.

1. Why fix something that ain't broken in the first place?

2. Tata was on the verge of extinction before Tiago. And Maruti is in a NO situation like Tata. Even today, Tata has its own troubles - unless Tata fixes the poor reliability and significantly improves the ASS experience, it won't be long enough before Tata is in trouble.
The Tata experience between Tata Steel/Taj (Tata Hotels)/TCS/even Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles is totally different from Tata Motors Passenger Car BU. In fact, the worst customer experience we get from the whole of the Tata Group is from the Tata Motors PVBU.

3. M&M's market focus. M&M's products are catered to a specific market, even though it is still catering to the mass market. The tough and rough SUV segment. The point to note is that "Bolero" is the highest-selling M&M and the update/upgrade until now is the least as well. Ignoring the Bolero Neo which is a TUV upgrade actually.

4. Skoda/VW may not be as successful in India. However, they are not in the mass market race at all until they launched the Kushaq/Taigun which again I consider are not mass-market vehicles. The point to note is that globally Skoda Octavia and VW Golf are always on top in the best-selling automobiles in the world.

5. Kia is totally new entrant. A new entrant only has 2 options - either capture a respectable market share with appropriate pricing and product offering (or) cater to a niche market with a niche product. An example of the latter is Compass. So going with a niche offering is not the strength of the Korean brand (Hyundai as well).

6. MG is a SAIC subsidiary. And SAIC sits on a huge profit pile. And, we all know the cost of manufacturing in China. And the product positioning. Eg - Oppo, Xiaomi, Redmi, Realmi, etc, etc.

7. Maruti did offer significantly better products - Kizashi, S-Cross 1.6DDiS, Vitara, well ahead of these competitive times. But it was a flop. The reasons for the flop is another debatable topic.

8. The product portfolio of Maruti is not exciting? It is not exciting to enthusiasts like "US". Enthusiasts like us are negligible in numbers compared to the total car buyer numbers. The mass-market/first-time buyers are still excited to own a car (Maruti).

9. A company/brand Maruti cannot shut its factories similar to Ford, GM, Fiat. That will lead to total economic and industry chaos, let alone collapse. And I am sure, our government will not allow that because automotive and its allied manufacturing contributes the largest share of revenue of the whole manufacturing industry.

10. All said and done, Maruti should upgrade and uplift its game to suit and meet the market expectations and transformations. I still feel S-cross is a solid car, but it lacks the excitement or fun factor. Neither is feature-rich. Maruti should at least offer a couple of exciting products if not many to quench the thirst of auto enthusiasts like us.

[ashis89]

Maruti could end up being what Nokia was once - King of the market but wiped out from the face of the Earth, for being too rigid. The current Toyota - Maruti tie up reminds me of the Microsoft - Nokia relationship. After dragging it's feet for few years, the phone OS segment was a small business for Microsoft which it closed without a second thought but it was death for Nokia.

As it seems so far, Maruti is happy to focus on the volumes in the small car segment rather than moving up the chain. So far as the volumes are coming in M-O-M, they don't want to risk any change.

And their brand still has the trust of the of the population. But trust and volumes can change their course pretty quickly. Whether they end up like the once popular Bajaj Chetak or survive to fight another day like Hero Motors, only time will tell.

Originally Posted by SmartCat

2) It would seem that Maruti's competitors are launching new products frequently, but that's not the case. Tata launched Altroz because they had nothing in the premium hatchback segment. Maruti always had the Baleno. Hyundai/Kia launched Venue/Sonet, but Maruti always had the Brezza. It would seem that VW group/MG are launching new products in premium SUV segment, but then - they never had any presence in that segment. Maruti always had the S-Cross.

It is not about having cars in the segment but updating it regularly based on market trends and demands. Baleno and Brezza have been old cars now. They need something new to keep themselves relevant.

S-Cross has been a low seller since its launch.

3) Honda/Toyota don't have a turbo petrol engine either.

Honda is losing market. Toyota doesn't have small cars where they can fit a turbo petrol (both of them have turbo petrols in their international range). Over time, we have seen that turbo petrols can be fun, reasonably fuel efficient, reasonably easy to maintain and reliable too. Heck, even Tata launched the Bolt and Zest with turbo petrol engines few years ago. And they continue to sell turbo petrols even today. Today Nissan/Renault, Hyundai/Kia, VAG, MG, M&M, all of them have turbo-petrol options in the 1-1.5L capacity range.

Instead of discontinuing the turbo petrol in Baleno, they should have manufactured it locally to bring the price down.

4) Regarding growth in 20L+ price segment, Maruti will eventually get there with the right models.

They tried with the Vitara and Kizashi, failed and gave up. They don't seem to be in a mood to take that risk again.

On the other Hyundai tried (Tucson, Terracan, Sonata, Santa Fe and so on), failed but didn't give up. Finally today, they're able to sell a 20L Creta and a 30L Tucson.

6) As of now, there is no evidence in monthly sales numbers to prove that SAFETY sells. Maruti will make safer cars if there is change in regulations.

Increase in sales numbers of Tata cars is a hint. Even XUV300 had a slow start but picked up nicely once the crash rating was out. Maruti shouldn't ignore these signs.

[aaggoswami]

Rather than sleeping, its like they are cruising thinking that nobody can overtake them.
Sure they have a few things on their side, small engines are efficient, not slouch at all and do last long even on CNG.
Add to that the wide service network and the fact they get basics and mechanicals right, and its a nice combination topped off with value oriented pricing vis-à-vis competition.

However, they missed out on market trends while focusing on entry level and a segment above that. What saved Maruti was timely launch of Baleno hatchback when i20 clearly was half a segment above Swift and secondly the launch of Brezza. Maruti has been traditionally slow, remember it was launch of Santro that got us Wagon R, but Maruti wasn't ever proactive. I dont expect things to change much. There isn't much noise on crash test rating of Seltos lower than XL6.
Nobody is saint in the business and its even more apparent by the fact that a global name like Hyundai isnt' having crash test rating for sold in India i20, a car with asking price hovering around a million rupees.

Maruti's nearest new launch isn't exciting at all : Celerio. But next up we can expect Brezza and may be too much to expect but an all new Swift in 2022 ?

What I think is the real miss : Crossovers, Hybrid and EV. Being slow right now is going to hurt half a decade down the line as crossovers would be flooding the market, and even more so if they are not working on Hybrid and EV technology. What is taking them so long to come up with the Vitara available in international market is beyond most prudent of thoughts. Jimny, what an appeal. Maruti could have made waves, but alas, they wont.

Diesels are missed too, but the market thinks otherwise I guess. Still, having the diesel engine in their line up would spice the sales numbers up.

However, lets have a look at the market other than Hyundai/Kia and Tata.
Mahindra : Losing sales, little or no success under Rs. 10 lakh segment.
Toyota : Toying with Suzuki like a lion, sooner or later it would eat up Suzuki. Suzuki has good presence in India
Honda : The GM/Ford boat could have a new passenger. Silence in the segment which matters.
Nissan/Renault : Still hopeful but more likely they are one or two model wonders. Long way to be significant enough to survive
VW : Giving company to Honda, am not sure if they will find Indian operations useful if Taigun/Kushaq fail or dont bring in desired numbers.

Fewer players then in Indian market, more so in budget segment.
An emerging middle class will and semi urban markets will mostly not venture out of 6-8 lakh rupee options, hence the cruise from Maurti.
But when things move another step up in the ladder, Maurti will be caught unawares.

To summarize, they better start focusing and act energetically in correct direction to avoid playing catchup, something it already is doing.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by shibujp

We need to remember that Maruti has been in this boat twice at least in my lifetime. Remember the Esteem, Zen era where they kept peddling old designs and architectures for few years while the competition launched the Getz, Sail and what not? Then came the Swift and suddenly the wonderful competion was dead as a duck except for Hyundai.

The point is calling time on such a brilliant manufacturer is premature. Even with the current generation the S-Cross, Baleno, Ertiga/XL6 offer solid value. Just because we all shout loud and hard that does not change. The Wagon R still does great numbers and so does the Swift.

If I were the competition I would be nervous at the silence given past experience. And use the time to cover deficiencies with respect to Maruti. They are the automaker than convinced the world that we are a genuine automotive market not Tata or Mahindra.

Superbly put and very valid points. Especially the thing with the silence from the MSIL stable. The Swift was a revolution when it was launched and apart from the Swift MSIL deserves credit for being a first mover or rather the reason for many changes in the industry. From bringing common rail diesels in small car and making them desirable, to making automatic cars more accepted in the market. Before the Celerio AMT, automatic transmissions were a rare thing or hardly chosen by customers. By bringing it at the 4L rupee bracket, it sort of kickstarted the trend of customers preferring automatics more and more.

If you see it this way, my grouse is here. When the company was once leading the pack and showing the market new features and better equipment, why not the same now. When the SX4 was launched against the Honda City and the Verna, it would boast of more equipment. The Honda city didnt even offer a climate control system back then. The Swift was the first hatchback IIRC to have climate control, ABS, twin Airbags. But today, that has toned down to the extent that there is nothing exlusive that an MS car offers compared to the competition. Thats the change over the past years.

And the other point is, Suzuki globally was in a better position earlier, with aggressive products developed for the global markets. They could trickle down to the Indian markets with the right sort of optimization done. But today, the product development that is happening at MSIL is giving us results like Espresso. Looking at that, I can only reduce my hopes I had earlier. I think the XL6 was the last desirable product that they introduced. Thats a car which practically has no competition currently. However, even then there is a reluctance to provide additional airbags, safety features even though its readily available to them.

The only way the company could create a storm after this silence is by bringing in alternate fuels(not CNG though) with the help of Toyota and get into the electric and hybrid bandwagon earlier than they claim(2024). Else I am sure pretty much every other manufacturer would have done this and have got acceptance by then. Otherwise, things wont be like earlier times for sure. If you see the global Suzuki portfolio, its nothing but a disappointment. So its upto the talent in MSIL. I do not want to judge how good or bad they could be, but just want to mention that their job is not as easy as before.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Agree with the general sentiment. Maruti seems to have become truly complacent after getting the assurance of the brand Toyota to back them up.

And why not? Because while we are discussing all this, Toyota says to Maruti Suzuki:
Your 7-year-old will become our ALL-NEW next month!

Trivia:
- Ciaz turns 7 today!

[Lalvaz]

Originally Posted by shibujp

So let us not underestimate a company that is still owning close to 50% of auto-sales in India.

Someone mentioned the Ertiga, Brezza and Spresso being the mainstay of Maruti's sales. Apparently the Baleno was forgotten. In August it did 15,000 to the i20s 7000 odd. That's the range of SUVs and cars from 0-10 lakhs sorted out.

The point is calling time on such a brilliant manufacturer is premature. Even with the current generation the S-Cross, Baleno, Ertiga/XL6 offer solid value. Just because we all shout loud and hard that does not change. The Wagon R still does great numbers and so does the Swift. Elon Musk has said that the auto business is one of the toughest businesses in the world. So let's give credit where credit is due. I do not believe that Maruti has suddenly lost it's mojo. If I were the competition I would be nervous at the silence given past experience. And use the time to cover deficiencies with respect to Maruti. They are the automaker that convinced the world that we are a genuine automotive market not Tata or Mahindra.

Drive on,
Shibu

I understand and agree with your views to a large extent. However I disagree on one point. Maruti has ignored its customers, and that can never be a sensible strategy.

To elaborate, As a loyal Maruti Suzuki customer, in the market for a new car, none of the current product offerings excite me. They need to quickly get a contemporary offering to cater to a customer that prefers Suzuki reliability, but also wants a car that is SAFER, Well built, Good interiors, and Fun to Drive.

I sincerely hope they get their act together and soon.

[driven646]

They're easily available in every nook and corner of my state of Himachal, very cheap and hassle free to repair, can be repaired anywhere and more or less go anywhere including over extremely poor roads without breaking down.

Which is why they dominate the market here, I know very well to do people buying the humble Maruti over much fancier rivals as all their motoring interest is in getting from point a to b, hassle free and not spending too much on service and repairs.

[ashutoshb]

People are missing GTO's point.

Its not about how good or bad Maruti's existing cars are.

Its about, they haven't launched a car in the past two years and how their portfolio is getting dated fast.

He is also right in saying that the features hungry customer doesn't have a Maruti in their shopping list.

They have indeed missed the bus in the 15-25 lakh segment.

What bothers me the most is the arrogant Trump like tone they have towards changes.

Maruti Chairman Bhargava, in a way, tried to question the motives of Global NCAP itself, by calling a "a private company with a commercial interests of its own". To me, it was trying to set the tone, that Global NCAP is favouring some companies by taking money. Nothing such has been proven. But just like Trump, you spit out venom and no one verifies.

Maruti's strategy appears to be failed because now awareness about crash testing is getting more. People now have started asking questions.

[Kosfactor]

Why would they care?

Maruti has a power train problem and one can argue that they do not have a 4+ meter winner save for Ertiga & XL6 which commands ~70% market share in the MPV segment.

But as per latest report Maruti is sitting at 2L + pending orders , just wait for new Celerio to launch, it would go even further.

Do they need to really care about not having more products or even a diesel engine?

Also Hyundai is sitting on 1L pending orders followed by Mahindra at 90K. Overall automotive industry is sitting on 5L order book, they have next to no reason to innovate at this point thanks to Semi conductor shortage.

[anjan_c2007]

Maruti has become very, very much satisfied with its great feats and glories of the past. They have 52-56 % share of the car market and that's a big feather on their cap with the # 2 and # 3 competitors far, far away to catch up anytime soon. Since a decade ago, they have started penetrating the rural markets too for their market share. Though lacking all the safety stars yet, but they have climbed mountains to gain upto 4 stars since they had that Big ZERO of the NCAP ratings on their most famous and best selling models. The thousands of innocent and gullible lives lost with the ZERO NCAP ratings are a matter of shame, but that has not either dented MSIL's sentiments or even their sales. Their novel way of marketing now is recommendations from existing owners to the new, who are very satisfied with the age old reliable cars sans any new technology breakthroughs or any buoyant and contemporary features on the MSIL cars and also the hassle free ASC's stocked amply with affordable spares. It was earlier "Hamara Bajaj" that used the same technology for 40 plus years and remained at # 1 in scooter sales and later Hero Honda or now Hero Moto that sells the age old, proven 100cc bikes and stays as the best selling ones in their class and so on.

But Shri Bhargava and his team needs to realise that the times are very demanding and catering to their very trusted class of buyers may sometime in the future be passe with winds of change sweeping the market. They do not have any worthwhile EV or Hybrid on offer till date. They bank only on petrol and CNG cars. Diesel came, went, was again to make a swift come back, but now its shunned forever !

Actress Sridevi when reigning as #1 in Bollywood was once asked "who is your greatest competitor ?", by a film magazine.

She brilliantly replied, "At # 1, I am my own greatest competitor and will have to struggle a lot to remain at that position."

[shancz]

Originally Posted by shibujp

So let us not underestimate a company that is still owning close to 50% of auto-sales in India.
They are the automaker that convinced the world that we are a genuine automotive market not Tata or Mahindra.

Well said, nothing beats harder than cold hard data.

After having bashed MSIL in earlier posts here's a different take and all IMHOs :

Customer Base : MSIL unlike most other manufacturers serves the people even in the remotest parts of our country. While we in the T1/T2 have a variety of options with workable service its T3/rural/remote where MSIL is the only option they rely upon.
While we can make noise sitting in our urban centers about MSIL not measuring up in features and tech those guys just want the car to run flawlessly and be cheap to run and maintain. That's why the focus is on low cost of purchase and ownership and a reliable experience.

Strategy : See what MSIL's been doing for the last 4-5 years, incrementally and without making a fuss about it but the changes are very big and important.
- They've phased out the M800 and the Omni after the new crash test became mandatory
- They've constantly moved their lineup towards the Heartect platform and K-Series engines
- They've packaged/split their urban focused models as NEXA.

Few questions arise and answered by a hypothetical MSIL person to keep it a bit interesting

-- Start of hypothetical interview --

Q : Why have you done the changes mentioned earlier ?
A : After the BS6 norms the next big change would be more stringent crash test regulations and then even stricter emissions.
Hence we're consolidating the lineup towards Heartect and K-Series to meet future safety and emission mandates without disruptions. Remember the BS6 heartaches ?

Q : But Heartect cars have scored low in GNCAP ?
A : Yes they have but the idea is that once all cars are on the same platform then to clear future crash test requirements the changes will be easy and seamless.
Coming to poor scores in GNCAP(where the Indian models were tested), in EUNCAP the Baleno on the Heartect has scored 3 and 4 stars.
The difference isn't in the bodyshell/platform but in the ADAS features. And with speed assist and lane support it might even get 5!
Of course it isn't the safest structure out there(check out the Polo) but its safe enough to earn 4-5 stars in EUNCAP.
Do note that the safety kit varies between EU and Indian models too, like airbags.
Point being that the Heartect platform is safe enough mechanically and more kit can be added to clear any upcoming safety mandates.

Have a look : (Credits to Providers : EURO-NCAP)
Baleno 3 stars, Baleno 4 stars, Polo 5 stars




Q : But what about the non Heartect cars ?
A : The Alto800, Eeco and S-Cross all serve a very unique user-base.
They will be moved over to Heartect eventually which essentially means a new car with same name like we've done with the wagonR and Baleno or replaced.
- Alto could be stopped altogether(like the 800) and the "new Celerio" would succeed it.
- Eeco serves a very unique audience and will be moved to Heartect.
- S-Cross would clear at least the next round of safety requirements like its EU version but will eventually be migrated/replaced. We had honestly thought we wouldn't need to migrate it due to low sales but what's with all the people buying the S-Cross AT(Ancient Transmission), even we're surprised. We hadn't planned for this, we'll figure something out.

Q : Then what about the K-Series migration ?
A : Same idea, single engine format helps in seamless emission compliance in the future.
The F8D in the Alto with go with it and the G12B on the Eeco might continue as an exception but is being thought upon.

Q : So is it all about consolidating and preparing for the future ? And why so much focus on consolidation ?
A : Yes and by future we mean at least 20 years down the line unlike others. We don't have an option to pack up and leave, this is our home.
From your why consolidation question I can concur that you haven't operated such a large service and logistics network.
Just imagine the efficiency and economy our production and supply chain will have once all our cars are on the Heartect and K-Series, common part catalogues, shared components, seamless spares availability across regions, a logistical dream, I am already getting goosebumps.

Q : What about the enthusiasts crying for better interiors and safety ? When will the Jimny come to India ? When will we get a respectable automatic ?
A : Priorities. Currently we're focused on the getting the lineup ready for the future and for all our customers, not just the urban centers. But we'll get back to servicing those demands once we've future-proofed our basics.
Patience, my friend, is the key in the long run.

Q : Won't you lose a lot of sales from your "patience" approach?
A : We'll let the numbers do the talking.

Q : Are you asleep at the controls ?
A : We're working from 0800 everyday, we keep our customers in high Esteem, but we're Zen as its our Vitara and its Kizashi.
Once we're done consolidating we can Celerio and in a Baleno we'll be set the charts on Ignis.
There will also be the sweet and Swift Jimny soon.
What do you think

-- End of hypothetical interview --

Thanks for the patience and time.


Note : Not a fanboy post, just adding a touch of first person and sometimes cheesy humor.

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by audioholic

If you see it this way, my grouse is here. When the company was once leading the pack and showing the market new features and better equipment, why not the same now.

Well in terms of equipment it's still only Hyundai that has caught up and offering better. But I have a question. Does Hyundai have the acceptance in rural markets that Maruti has? While Maruti has a decent portfolio for urban buyers, it is still staying true to it's roots of catering to a segment of population that is moving out into the emerging middle class. At that point the desire is for a cheap, reliable, fuel efficient runabout. Maruti is doing right in my book by not ignoring this segment that has been it's bread and butter. They care less about frequent facelifts purely because a car is still a sizeable part of their budget covering multiple years of salary. And Maruti is the only car maker that has earned that kind of trust. Might not be so much of a problem with the urban middle class though.

Originally Posted by Lalvaz

I understand and agree with your views to a large extent. However I disagree on one point. Maruti has ignored its customers, and that can never be a sensible strategy.

Or has it's earlier customer base outgrown it? I am not sure Maruti is super focused on the upper middle class at the cost of it's bread and butter customer base. When looking for a replacement for my Swift in 2014 I faced the same issue wrt an upgrade from Maruti. A year later out comes the S-Cross and the Baleno. The delay hardly dented their market share.

Originally Posted by ashutoshb

People are missing GTO's point.

Its about, they haven't launched a car in the past two years and how their portfolio is getting dated fast.

A car company is a business. Whether it launches a product or not is not the issue. As long as the volumes are there, and there is demand, cash is still flowing in. On the other hand volumes are a problem. If Maruti has a backlog of orders where is the manufacturing capacity to create a new production line for a new model? That can be another answer to the problem too right?

Drive on,
Shibu.

[Geta]

A few random thoughts.

1) Not everybody can master the "high volume with excellent reliability" game.

2) Korea is the new Japan. No two ways about this. Japanese have aged. Literally.

3) Toyota pulled the plug on Etios claiming that "the profits generated by selling one Innova is equal to the profits generated be selling 80 Etios cars". Hence going up the ladder is the logical direction. Tata may be making more money selling 1000 Harrier's than selling 10,000 Tiagos. So by analysing the market share by sheer numbers of vehicles sold we may be misreading the market.

4) Maruti today is like an aged Superstar whose fans cheer everytime he appears on the screen not for his present performance but because he has had a stellar past.

5) Maruti is indeed a car enthusiast's delight on this side of Rs 10 lacs. It has guarded it's territory fiercely even beating inflation in the process. Alto, Wagon R, Swift, Dzire prices have been largely in the same ballpark zone despite the mounting inflation.

6) That said, the quality of Maruti cars is compromised. A well maintained 10 year old Ritz looks more handsome than the latest Swift. The Alto and WagonR from the previous generation were more handsome and we'll put together compared with the present generation.

7) It may not be very difficult for Maruti to build safe cars. It is waiting for the others to burn money in publicising about car safety so that it can cash on it by offering safe cars 2-3 years down the line.

8) Maruti ditching it's diesel engine, VAG exiting the diesels altogether, Tata borrowing Kryotec engines instead of upgrading the Varicor, Toyota restricting it's 2.8 diesel to Fortuner etc, make me very very surprised about Mahindra's strategy of swimming against the tide and democratising BS6 diesels, and that too with the power output of a BMW! If a market leader with 50% share in India can not afford to develop a BS6 diesel, if a global major like VAG can not develop a BS6 diesel, I am unsure how a company like M&M which has less than 10% market share in India and negligible global presence, has risk appetite, funds, expertise and the vision to develop such an engine and offer it at mouthwatering prices. I am very very impressed, Mahindra!