Can Maruti Finish Santro this way..

DCEite · 19th July 2005, 22:05

A thought struck my mind today..

Even though Maruti and Hyundai are neck to neck with their tall boy cars (WagonR and Santro), the Santro continues to outsell the Maruti partially because of the SRK thing and partially because of the good looks of Santro as opposed to WagonR..

Now what Maruti can do to finish of Santro completely, is to launch a SWIFT LX with 1.1 Ltr wagonR engine..(ok dont jump the gun on me..read on..).. and discontinue the WagonR..
Remember Alto1.1 and Alto .8 coexistence??

Now price SWIFT LX right up in the 3.5 lac range, and do some weight cutting (now this is the most difficult part, since it will be too much of a work for a 1.1 engine to carry such a heavy peace of metal..).. and considering the phsyche of Indian consumers.. they will prefer the Suzuki anyday over Santro because of the Looks, brand image, and the HYPE Swift has generated...

So what say t-bhpians...
dont be shy to call it a stupid idea though..

turbo_lover · 19th July 2005, 22:25

Quote:

considering the phsyche of Indian consumers.. they will prefer the Suzuki anyday over Santro because of the Looks, brand image, and the HYPE Swift has generated...

"considering the psyche of indian consumer " ---

they will end up buying 1.1 swift at the cheaper price than the 1.3 L variant ...
just like alto .8L was preferred to the alto 1.1 ...
hence they might risk poorer sales or even discontinuation of 1.3L variant swift...

dude even at the 3.5range ..santro is cheaper than our 1.1L swift...the base model santro has now been priced to target the alto (in term of entry level sales) ....

speedsatya · 19th July 2005, 22:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by dceite

dont be shy to call it a stupid idea though..

hehe yeah it is a stupid idea.

the swift at 1000+kg will be underpowered witha 1.1l engine.also the FE will be drop .

instead if the zen and M800 are discontinued , then the alto and wagon r sales will pick up .

the santro has better sales becasue it is present in all variants competing with alto as well as the wagon r.

so if you consider the sales of the (alto +wagon r),it is way ahead of the santro.

Mpower · 19th July 2005, 22:50

Santro sales have not been affected by Swift.
In fact Swift is eating into sales of Zen and Esteem.

lamborghini · 19th July 2005, 23:12

Stupid idea,
The WagonR is a perfect alternative to the Swift.
The consumers of both are very different.
The WagonR offers practicilaty which is missin in the swift.
This would instead help sales of the Santro.
Also a 1.1L swift will cannabalise 1.3L swift sales as in the case of Alto, Palio, Sail.

nishant_kingpin · 20th July 2005, 00:07

Yup that was stupid. It may do more damage than good for Maruti Sales. Overall, the strategy may help increase short term sales, but Hyundai is not out of good marketable models

in that segment. They can come in with a new car anytime.

devarshi84 · 20th July 2005, 00:35

I own a Wagon R Vx( 5th in gujarat I believe) This car still rocks.

WE have won in the wagonR mile edge challenge. The sheer practicality of this car now with abs and airbags beats santro head on. Its the price that does it for santro.

I would never prefer the santro though. My both uncles have the santro xing and the cars are no match when it comes to power or fuel efficicency or practiality.

sriny_blr · 20th July 2005, 08:33

Another stupid idea...
I guess the easiet way for maruti is to relaunch the zen with 1.1 and a few cosmic changes. look how new look esteem is selling... not to forget there are many zen overs out there..

devarshi84 · 20th July 2005, 10:14

No . Maruti needs to chuck out its complete portfolio that is years old.

Only the swift and grand vitara can be called competitive models. Wagon R is just about ok. All the other cars belong in the scrap yard now.

vishaltanksale · 20th July 2005, 11:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by devarshi84

the cars are no match when it comes to power or fuel efficicency or practiality.

I think you are too emotional abt. your wagonR..except Power Santro does match WagonR on FE and Practiality. Infact it edge out on looks department easily..but thats purely my view.

Coming to discussion....
It is so very strange that all ppl here..who are knowledgable in auto industry, start comparing Swift with Santro.
It was Hyundai stratergy which seems to be working...nobody even talks abt. Swift-Getz. And this way Hyundai has made sure Getz remains intact and at the same time manage to increase sales of santro (with this kind of comparison and its revised price tag).
Althoug I own Santro xing and I feel its very practical for city driving..but want to be fair with Swift which is miles ahead of it....

DCEite · 20th July 2005, 11:15

VIshal tank sale.. i did not intend to start a Swift v/s Santro or a WagonR v/s Santro debate here.. what i proposed is an hypothetical situation taking Swift 1.1 into picture..(not 1.3).. so i guess you did not quite understand the first post of this topic.

The Xing is a good city car, no doubts about it.. but i was just talking about some kind of marketing strategy which can efffectively kill the sales of Santro.. nothing to do with Swift v/s Santro crap..

vishaltanksale · 20th July 2005, 11:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by dceite

VIshal tank sale.. i did not intend to start a Swift v/s Santro or a WagonR v/s Santro debate here.. what i proposed is an hypothetical situation taking Swift 1.1 into picture..(not 1.3).. so i guess you did not quite understand the first post of this topic.

The Xing is a good city car, no doubts about it.. but i was just talking about some kind of marketing strategy which can efffectively kill the sales of Santro.. nothing to do with Swift v/s Santro crap..

Well I am not questioning about ur oiginal post, but invariablly I see this kind of posts lead to comparison. I already see some thread for santro vs Swift comparison and feel bad for Swift.
My whole point is, even here at Team-BHP we have started this invalid / wrong comparisons.

And sorry if I am very hash in my comments

johnjacob · 20th July 2005, 12:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by devarshi84

No . Maruti needs to chuck out its complete portfolio that is years old.

Only the swift and grand vitara can be called competitive models. Wagon R is just about ok. All the other cars belong in the scrap yard now.

Well, I agree that most of their portfolio is obsolete, but that's why Maruti still sells them! They have recovered their investment eons ago, now they are laughing their way to the bank with each Zen, Esteem or WagonR sold. And as long as people still prefer to buy those outdated products instead of the competition*, why wouldn't (and shouldn't) Maruti keep selling them? After all, a corporation's primary aim is to generate returns for their shareholders. Quick, lemme buy some Maruti stock!

* I'm not getting into the comparison of whether the competition offers more modern products or products that are equally obsolete.

shuvc · 20th July 2005, 13:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnjacob

now they are laughing their way to the bank with each Zen, Esteem or WagonR sold.

IMO, the Baleno, although a good car, should also be added to that list ..

sriny_blr · 20th July 2005, 13:33

Guys !! I also read in wheels website that a new look getz is on the way, may be it will make it to India.

19th July 2005, 22:05	#1
DCEite Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: NCR Posts: 3,418 Thanked: 2,567 Times	Can Maruti Finish Santro this way.. A thought struck my mind today.. Even though Maruti and Hyundai are neck to neck with their tall boy cars (WagonR and Santro), the Santro continues to outsell the Maruti partially because of the SRK thing and partially because of the good looks of Santro as opposed to WagonR.. Now what Maruti can do to finish of Santro completely, is to launch a SWIFT LX with 1.1 Ltr wagonR engine..(ok dont jump the gun on me..read on..).. and discontinue the WagonR.. Remember Alto1.1 and Alto .8 coexistence?? Now price SWIFT LX right up in the 3.5 lac range, and do some weight cutting (now this is the most difficult part, since it will be too much of a work for a 1.1 engine to carry such a heavy peace of metal..).. and considering the phsyche of Indian consumers.. they will prefer the Suzuki anyday over Santro because of the Looks, brand image, and the HYPE Swift has generated... So what say t-bhpians... dont be shy to call it a stupid idea though..
	() Thanks

19th July 2005, 22:50	#4
Mpower Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 10,409 Thanked: 1,730 Times View My Garage	Santro sales have not been affected by Swift. In fact Swift is eating into sales of Zen and Esteem.
	() Thanks

19th July 2005, 23:12	#5
lamborghini Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 6,114 Thanked: 5,763 Times View My Garage	Stupid idea, The WagonR is a perfect alternative to the Swift. The consumers of both are very different. The WagonR offers practicilaty which is missin in the swift. This would instead help sales of the Santro. Also a 1.1L swift will cannabalise 1.3L swift sales as in the case of Alto, Palio, Sail.
	() Thanks

20th July 2005, 00:07	#6
nishant_kingpin BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: New Delhi Posts: 335 Thanked: 4 Times	Yup that was stupid. It may do more damage than good for Maruti Sales. Overall, the strategy may help increase short term sales, but Hyundai is not out of good marketable models in that segment. They can come in with a new car anytime.
	() Thanks

20th July 2005, 00:35	#7
devarshi84 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Ahmedabad - Tor Posts: 4,024 Thanked: 211 Times View My Garage	I own a Wagon R Vx( 5th in gujarat I believe) This car still rocks. WE have won in the wagonR mile edge challenge. The sheer practicality of this car now with abs and airbags beats santro head on. Its the price that does it for santro. I would never prefer the santro though. My both uncles have the santro xing and the cars are no match when it comes to power or fuel efficicency or practiality.
	() Thanks

20th July 2005, 08:33	#8
sriny_blr BHPian Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: BLR Posts: 217 Thanked: 52 Times View My Garage	Another stupid idea... I guess the easiet way for maruti is to relaunch the zen with 1.1 and a few cosmic changes. look how new look esteem is selling... not to forget there are many zen overs out there..
	() Thanks

20th July 2005, 10:14	#9
devarshi84 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Ahmedabad - Tor Posts: 4,024 Thanked: 211 Times View My Garage	No . Maruti needs to chuck out its complete portfolio that is years old. Only the swift and grand vitara can be called competitive models. Wagon R is just about ok. All the other cars belong in the scrap yard now.
	() Thanks

20th July 2005, 11:15	#11
DCEite Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: NCR Posts: 3,418 Thanked: 2,567 Times	VIshal tank sale.. i did not intend to start a Swift v/s Santro or a WagonR v/s Santro debate here.. what i proposed is an hypothetical situation taking Swift 1.1 into picture..(not 1.3).. so i guess you did not quite understand the first post of this topic. The Xing is a good city car, no doubts about it.. but i was just talking about some kind of marketing strategy which can efffectively kill the sales of Santro.. nothing to do with Swift v/s Santro crap..
	() Thanks

20th July 2005, 13:33	#15
sriny_blr BHPian Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: BLR Posts: 217 Thanked: 52 Times View My Garage	Guys !! I also read in wheels website that a new look getz is on the way, may be it will make it to India.
	() Thanks