[fhdowntheline]

From alternate fuel perspective, it appears that Maruti may focus on CNG to a great extent . Given the ratio of CNG cars sold in the country, and its availability for over a decade now, it is clear that its not a popular choice at all. Other companies , notably TML, MG will definitely try to focus on the EV side of the market. But for the next 5-7 years, assuming that petrol remains the dominant fuel of choice, Maruti's market share will continue to drop. They simply are not present in the 11-lac plus segment, save the odd top-end variant of the S Cross or Brezza. Maruti is not going to be a choice for people upgrading to their next car. With CSUVs available from 6 lac onwards, I am not sure if Maruti will even continue their lead in the 5-10 lac segment for a long time.

[amol4184]

If only MS had launched the Jimny on time in India, this thread would not have seen light of the day.
At this point though, just bringing that damn BS6 1.5 diesel back would be Diwali and Christmas rolled into one.

[R_R]

Since they have a tie-up with Toyota, can't they bring in the RAV-4? Manufacturing it in India will give them an outstanding vehicle in the potentially 25-35L SUV range that is begging for some new blood. As of now, only ones here are the old Tucson, Jeep Compass and may be the new 5-seat Tiguan. But they aren't even bringing in the Grand Vitara, though admittedly it is a bit old now. Actually, I don't understand why even Toyota is not considering manufacturing the RAV-4 here.

[antz.bin]

No other company reads the Indian market like Maruti Suzuki does. With diesels on their way out, most BS6 diesels facing all sorts of issues, Maruti has taken the right call, in hindsight, given their lack of R&D expertise.

The rise in petrol and diesel prices have led to a gap in the market that no manufacturer has addressed yet. The large tank CNG vehicles!

Most CNG vehicles have an Achilles Heel. That is the compromised boot space. If manufacturers can turn the tables by reducing the size of the petrol tank to 5/10 liters and use the space vacated by the 40/50/60 liter petrol tank to place the CNG tank, the customers of such cars can literally have the cake and eat it too! I think Skoda does sell such an Octavia in the EU so VW group does has access to this technology.

Who needs an EV when CNG is almost as economical and freely available across the country. Range issues can also be alleviated with larger tanks now possible. The availability of CNG is only improving all across the country!

I envision that the next generation of Maruti Suzuki cars will be based on this philosophy. This should help them buy at least 5-6 years before mainstream EVs can finally catch up. That is enough time for Toyota to figure out it's EV plans and bail lil brother out.

Maruti Suzuki is not going away anywhere. They may not have launched brand new models recently, by they have made sure to make CNG versions of everything. That is what has helped them stay relevant in the face of Diesel competition. This bet will most likely pull them out of the pit they seem to be heading towards.

[shortbread]

For all the Maruti fans claiming CNG is the future and not EVs, please do a google search on how gas prices are rising faster than crude! If one imagines why this has not impacted India yet, well I think it's because CNG prices are revised on a quarterly basis. Not only have gas prices shot up there is massive shortage as well.

[Carma2017]

The hiatus from new launches in the Indian market is a conscious gamble by Suzuki. The emergence of Covid 19 during this period has only aided Suzuki as it was working hard behind the scenes with Toyota for future powertrains. Believe me when I say this, the Suzuki India supply chain is completely stretched in preparation for slew of new launches in 2022/2023 and augmenting capacity for increased volumes. As per my understanding, Suzuki knows it's weaknesses better than anybody, but is constrained by its abilities. The 2 year inward looking hiatus was in fact taken to prepare itself for next decade and further ahead. In short term, they would lose out definitely but let's see what the future holds...

[shancz]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

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

Good point, I was wondering that even if they launch a new SUV which will immediately start selling 20k+units/month, will they even have the capacity to deliver it within a 3 month waiting period without impacting other models ?

This is something other makers apart from Hyundai don't have to worry about

Originally Posted by Geta

-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.

-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.

- True and this is actually more evident in long standing motorcyles. The point being that they're trying to keep the factory prices in check for budget models while I am not sure about how/how much the royalty of Suzuki is.

- Excellent point and very true. All they have to say is that here's the Baleno, now with 4 stars
Like it does in EU, scroll to the image in the post (Maruti sleeping at the wheel | Where are the new car launches? | Why is Maruti missing new trends?)

[pradheepsr]

Well said GTO. Pathetic state of affairs as far as MSIL are concerned. Is this the beginning of the end of an era?
One big thing is that, they’ve constantly ignored in their line up of cars is safety. Still making cosmetic designs out of tin cans.
As rightly said, use of tech that existed during BC times when the world has moved on after the apocalypse.
I still feel that the numbers in the sales charts are primarily because many of their customers are first time car buyers or upgrading from a motorbike.
As long as that cohort exists MSIL will continue to survive, but will die a slow and painful death if not resuscitated soon IMO.

[Ritz2010]

Sad state of affairs. I enquired about BS6 engine to service incharge who is an automobile engineering graduate with good experience. He was non committal about new engines around March 2021.

Now in October 2021 it's been confirmed and I don't see any upcoming except for same models getting spruced up (read stickering or minor changes) - it's us the customers who have to bare the pain at the end of the day. Less the competition lesser the options.

I guess they are going through a dip - hopefully someone passionate about safety and EV take over for everyone's goodness.

In times like today's our nation can't afford someone going out (may sound pessimistic but it'll what ultimately happen when there is no innovation or out of tune with time)

[Mafia]

Originally Posted by R_R

Since they have a tie-up with Toyota, can't they bring in the RAV-4? Manufacturing it in India will give them an outstanding vehicle in the potentially 25-35L SUV range that is begging for some new blood.

RAV4 is priced above the Hyundai Tuscon by a good 15 - 20% wherever it is sold. The feature list is not as extensive as the Hyundai. The petrol engine options are all NA ones and no turbo option. Not sure about the Diesel engines though.

Price-wise, it is not the right option for India. It will always be compared to the Fortuner.

[Lalvaz]

Originally Posted by shibujp

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.

Drive on,
Shibu.

Perhaps the earlier customer base has outgrown it. So, is Maruti comfortable letting go of that customer base without a fight? They don't want to even try and offer an upgrade to their previous customers?

If the answer to this is Yes, then its not a smart strategy in my opinion. You've already got someone who loves the brand, but you chose to ignore his needs for a better automobile experience. This simply means you're unwilling to move up the value chain and stay relevant for your customers. And then its only a matter of time before you have to play catch up or become irrelevant.

[sudharshan]

I feel as long as Maruti can sell WagonR they will survive. The MVP of Maruti is to target the lower middle class segment. I feel they are not interested and want to fight in the higher segments, may be experiences from Kizashi and Grand Vitara.

If you look back they have attempted a few ahead of time launches and failed. It would be good if they can bring back Grand Vitara and Gypsy or Jimny. That would be a good start for the new focus and obtain new customers.

[rakesh_r]

If we look at Suzuki's footprint, they aren't very successful worldwide. Maruti is happy singing the "Kitna Deti hai, sales and service at every nook and cranny, Diesels are bad, affordability (you got to be kidding)" song, then why would they put in the effort to make new and safer cars. When the market is warming up three door SUVs, Thar being the perfect example, which has crossed 75k bookings with insane waiting period, Maruti is still scratching their heads on the Jimny, not even talking about the Vitara.
Well, if we Indians emphasise more on Kitna Deti Hai and non sensical features over safety and innovation, companies like Maruti will continue to rule the roost.
PS - I have a 2016 Scross 1.6, completely satisfied with my purchase, but my next car won't be a Maruti for sure.

[dragracer567]

Originally Posted by 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!

Ironically, Toyota was almost caught in the same predicament as Maruti in the international market with a generally boring mainstream line-up. This was until the CEO of Toyota - Akio Toyoda decided that they are done making boring cars! Truth be told, the current gen Corolla, Camry, Rav4 and European Yaris are the best looking Toyotas made in a long while and are anything but boring!

Perhaps, Maruti could learn a thing or two from its new partner.

[DCharger]

Yes.. Maruti indeed had slept through a good 6-7 years. Not a single good looking performer since the S-Cross. Espresso, though a good performer, I could never digest the looks.

It is working on snail's pace on new models and not sure if they will ever re-enter the Diesels.

And most recently with Toyota collaboration(I am not sure if we can call it that), it went to a Kumbakarna's sleep. With upcoming Belta and existing Urban Cruiser from Toyota, I am sure there will be a considerable dent to Maruti's market share there. It is high time that Maruti wakes and realizes that it will lose 'EVERY INDIAN's PEHLI CAR' fame/tag to other players soon(if it has not already).