The latest entrant into the AT warfare-A-Star AT

Technocrat · 8th July 2010, 00:21

I too think that A-star is the wrong car to be launched with AT. It should be the Wagon-R or Ritz which should come with an AT.

Swift AT is something that many would love to buy I think

Samurai · 8th July 2010, 00:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by bblost

Maybe Maruti is playing a very smart game. Enter with a bad AT in the not so VFM car. People will forget it was Maruti. Instead everyone will perceive AT as the thing that was bad.

They already did that in the 90s by bringing in 3-speed ATs. Indian public is yet to recover from that. Not possible to repeat that now considering good ATs from Hyundai have been around for 7 years now.

prasadee · 8th July 2010, 02:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

They cannot beat the i10 Automatic in any category. If its an Automatic @ a price tag of Rs 4 lacs OTR, it makes sense buying, else Maruti Suzuki will fail miserably.

We got a i10 AT last year for Rs 5.2 lacs OTR. It was the cheapest AT car we could buy. If a 4 speed AT is priced around the same price, there are enough Maruti campers like my dad who would have blindly bought it. A person who drives a few hundred miles a month could care little about the difference of 1 or 2 kmpl.

blackasta · 8th July 2010, 06:08

I do not understand this - why badge only 1 car from MSIL lineup as 'AT compatible'?
Hyundai has AT versions for all cars in their lineup (except santro and accent - both of which are nearing their end of life) - why cannot MSIL follow suit and reflect that in their lineup? AT versions of each car MSIL sells in India are available in either Europe/Japan.

Amartya · 8th July 2010, 07:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackasta

I do not understand this - why badge only 1 car from MSIL lineup as 'AT compatible'?
Hyundai has AT versions for all cars in their lineup (except santro and accent - both of which are nearing their end of life) - why cannot MSIL follow suit and reflect that in their lineup? AT versions of each car MSIL sells in India are available in either Europe/Japan.

When did Hyundai discontinue the Santro AT? Was it when they launched the i10 AT?

Axe77 · 8th July 2010, 08:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by xingamazon

I seriously do not belive the ladies should drive AT, I mean we are at an age when they can manage planes. Not sure why people assume they cant change gears.
Esp. with the gear box getting buttery everyday. Can someone explain.

Maybe it has something to do with the convenience of not having to change gears at all and has nothing to with assumptions.

MutantX · 8th July 2010, 08:42

well, i feel more comfortable on manual rather than AT. My Dad plans to buy an A* just because we already have 2 i10s in out family! we didnt want to make it 3 and hence A*. A* will surely sweeten the deal for us if and only if it is priced below the i10 A/T, else would be tempted to go for the i10 A/T.

But again, rather than buying an A* AT (priced between 4.5-5L), we would seriously think about buying a figo or a beat non-A/T. good that we guys are spoilt with soo many hatches in this segment.

The bottomline is A* needs a facelift or even a change in the structure to make it more spacious when it is going to launch the A/T. *i suspect this would never happen*

blackasta · 8th July 2010, 09:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amartya

When did Hyundai discontinue the Santro AT? Was it when they launched the i10 AT?

Yup - sometime around that.

ampere · 8th July 2010, 09:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Technocrat

I too think that A-star is the wrong car to be launched with AT. It should be the Wagon-R or Ritz which should come with an AT.

Swift AT is something that many would love to buy I think

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackasta

I do not understand this - why badge only 1 car from MSIL lineup as 'AT compatible'?
Hyundai has AT versions for all cars in their lineup (except santro and accent - both of which are nearing their end of life) - why cannot MSIL follow suit and reflect that in their lineup? AT versions of each car MSIL sells in India are available in either Europe/Japan.

Both valid points. If the compatibility is with the engine, they could as well think of Estillo/Wagon-R. Much better option than A-Star
(Though even I would agree Swift/Ritz would be the best bets).

nurni76 · 8th July 2010, 11:07

Somehow I feel this is a good move. Generally people buying Astar are young couples either with no kids or 1 or 2 small Kids. For such a family space may not be a constraint. For them it also may be a second car which the lady uses. Providing an AT will really drive more walkins to the A* stable for Maruti for such kind of consumers. Currently they may be preferring i10. However, having said this, it would be critical for Maruti to ensure 2 things; 1. FE should be decent and definitely better than i10 &; 2. The price should be 50-75K below i10.Both these are imperative because i10 has already established a significant lead in the auto segment. However the incremental sales can only be a few hundreds IMHO

ram_hyundai · 8th July 2010, 11:09

There are lot of coments which compares an AT with the space of the car.Are they related in anyway?I feel this is a good move from MSIL.As said earlier they are not here to burn the sales chart with an AT option rather yet another option for the customers who prefer AT.I dont think any model or manufacturer in India has relied on AT to hike sales figures.Sales of an AT option would any day be few percentages of the total sales of that model both AT and MT put together.

ram

chncar · 8th July 2010, 11:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by nurni76

However the incremental sales can only be a few hundreds IMHO

Maruti is already making right-hand drive auto transmission A-Star for foreign markets in India. So it costs nothing for them to market it in India and they have nothing to lose.

nurni76 · 8th July 2010, 11:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by chncar

Maruti is already making right-hand drive auto transmission A-Star for foreign markets in India. So it costs nothing for them to market it in India and they have nothing to lose.

While it will not have anything in terms of technology for Maruti to add AT, it will defnitely have a variable cost over a manual. They will need to recover the extra cost with higher price. So what I meant was that AT will cost more than MT and hence the incremental volumes will not be high

chncar · 8th July 2010, 13:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackasta

I do not understand this - why badge only 1 car from MSIL lineup as 'AT compatible'?

I think SX4 and Grand Vitara are already automatic.

tanwaramit · 8th July 2010, 14:22

very good move from Maruti.

though they should be ready with not so good sales numbers as the manual version of Astar is still a non-seller. So expecting good sales by launching it with an AT transmission will not do good.

Maruti should understand why consumers are not buying this car.

Also, adding AT to Swift will be a market killer, a swift AT will hit i10 AT sales hard. But wonder what is Maruti guys planning for !

8th July 2010, 00:21	#31
Technocrat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: GTA Posts: 14,813 Thanked: 2,700 Times	I too think that A-star is the wrong car to be launched with AT. It should be the Wagon-R or Ritz which should come with an AT. Swift AT is something that many would love to buy I think
	() Thanks

8th July 2010, 06:08	#34
blackasta Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: WB 26 Posts: 3,406 Thanked: 2,917 Times View My Garage	I do not understand this - why badge only 1 car from MSIL lineup as 'AT compatible'? Hyundai has AT versions for all cars in their lineup (except santro and accent - both of which are nearing their end of life) - why cannot MSIL follow suit and reflect that in their lineup? AT versions of each car MSIL sells in India are available in either Europe/Japan. Last edited by blackasta : 8th July 2010 at 06:10.
	() Thanks

8th July 2010, 08:42	#37
MutantX BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Madras Posts: 868 Thanked: 93 Times View My Garage	well, i feel more comfortable on manual rather than AT. My Dad plans to buy an A* just because we already have 2 i10s in out family! we didnt want to make it 3 and hence A. A will surely sweeten the deal for us if and only if it is priced below the i10 A/T, else would be tempted to go for the i10 A/T. But again, rather than buying an A* AT (priced between 4.5-5L), we would seriously think about buying a figo or a beat non-A/T. good that we guys are spoilt with soo many hatches in this segment. The bottomline is A* needs a facelift or even a change in the structure to make it more spacious when it is going to launch the A/T. i suspect this would never happen
	() Thanks

8th July 2010, 11:07	#40
nurni76 BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: BLR/SEATTLE Posts: 907 Thanked: 360 Times View My Garage	Somehow I feel this is a good move. Generally people buying Astar are young couples either with no kids or 1 or 2 small Kids. For such a family space may not be a constraint. For them it also may be a second car which the lady uses. Providing an AT will really drive more walkins to the A* stable for Maruti for such kind of consumers. Currently they may be preferring i10. However, having said this, it would be critical for Maruti to ensure 2 things; 1. FE should be decent and definitely better than i10 &; 2. The price should be 50-75K below i10.Both these are imperative because i10 has already established a significant lead in the auto segment. However the incremental sales can only be a few hundreds IMHO
	() Thanks

8th July 2010, 11:09	#41
ram_hyundai Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Calicut ,trisur Posts: 2,020 Thanked: 53 Times View My Garage	There are lot of coments which compares an AT with the space of the car.Are they related in anyway?I feel this is a good move from MSIL.As said earlier they are not here to burn the sales chart with an AT option rather yet another option for the customers who prefer AT.I dont think any model or manufacturer in India has relied on AT to hike sales figures.Sales of an AT option would any day be few percentages of the total sales of that model both AT and MT put together. ram
	() Thanks

8th July 2010, 14:22	#45
tanwaramit Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Dilwalon ki Dilli Posts: 1,930 Thanked: 497 Times	very good move from Maruti. though they should be ready with not so good sales numbers as the manual version of Astar is still a non-seller. So expecting good sales by launching it with an AT transmission will not do good. Maruti should understand why consumers are not buying this car. Also, adding AT to Swift will be a market killer, a swift AT will hit i10 AT sales hard. But wonder what is Maruti guys planning for !
	() Thanks