[romeomidhun]

Ref: Will Advani ride on Nano for his poll campaign? - Business News - News - MSN India - News

"When one thought there will no immediate threat for the world cheapest car from the stable of Tata, the Rs1-lakh Nano, news is out that Nano is facing challenge. Not from international area but from desi Maruti Alto.

According to a leading pink paper Friday, Maruti is planning to first slash the price of its best-selling model 800cc Alto which is priced at Rs2.3 lakh. And the price change would be effective only from 2010 once Tata Motors begins rolling out Nano from it Sanand plant in Gujarat in big number."

Earlier, the news was that Maruti may slash the price of its 800 model to compete with Nano. Now it is Alto the warrior for Maruti?

Originally Posted by romeomidhun

Ref: Will Advani ride on Nano for his poll campaign? - Business News - News - MSN India - News

"When one thought there will no immediate threat for the world cheapest car from the stable of Tata, the Rs1-lakh Nano, news is out that Nano is facing challenge. Not from international area but from desi Maruti Alto.

According to a leading pink paper Friday, Maruti is planning to first slash the price of its best-selling model 800cc Alto which is priced at Rs2.3 lakh. And the price change would be effective only from 2010 once Tata Motors begins rolling out Nano from it Sanand plant in Gujarat in big number."

Earlier, the news was that Maruti may slash the price of its 800 model to compete with Nano. Now it is Alto the warrior for Maruti?

This is nice. Lets see how much Maruti slashes on Alto.

[Technocrat]

Here is the complete story from today's edition of ET

NEW DELHI: Maruti Suzuki could slash the price of its largest-selling model, Alto, as it looks to take on the Nano, the world’s cheapest car
being rolled out by rival Tata Motors with a price tag of Rs 1 lakh later this month, said an executive familiar with the car market leader’s plans.

The executive, who asked not to be named, said the Alto, whose entry model costs Rs 2.3 lakh, will not be priced as low as the Nano, but will see “a significant mark-down”.

However, any cut in Alto prices will not be immediate, the executive said, adding that Maruti will wait to launch a full-frontal battle only after Nano volumes gain critical mass. This can happen only in 2010, when the Nano mother plant at Sanand in Gujarat goes on stream. Until then, Tata Motors is likely to produce only 3,000-5,000 units of the Nano every month from its plant at Pantnagar in Uttarakhand.

A Maruti spokesman did not confirm or deny the plan, only saying, “We don’t comment on our product plans.”

It’s still unclear whether Maruti will turn price aggressive with its current Alto model, or a new, souped-up version will be introduced so that the existing variant can be pushed down the price ladder to take on the Nano.

The decision to pit its best-selling model against the Nano is a major strategy shift for Maruti. The market leader was expected to cut prices of the M800 to counter the Nano. But according to people with knowledge of the situation, Maruti has decided that it’s too expensive to upgrade the M800 to meet the Euro 4 emission norms.

In 2010, 11 cities in India will embrace Euro 4, and the M800 will be phased out from these markets. As the rest of the country moves to the new emission standard, the M800 will slowly be phased out countrywide. The M800’s Euro 4 non-compliance is the reason why Maruti has to pit its best-selling model against the Nano, slated to be launched on March 23.

India's largest-selling model, the Alto standard, is priced at Rs 2.3 lakh. It has an 800cc engine, no AC and no power steering. The Nano standard version has a 624cc engine, but is expected to be priced Rs 1.2 lakh lower. Maruti sells around 2 lakh units of the Alto a year on an average. Alto sales recently crossed 1 million units.

Maruti's price aggression in the face of competition isn't new. When the Tata Indica was rolled out 10 years ago, Maruti reacted by cutting the price of its then best-seller, the M800, by Rs 25,000 to take on the Rs 2.95-lakh Tata car. Post-rebate, the M800 was priced around Rs 1.8 lakh, substantially cheaper than the Indica.

Maruti has always maintained that it will not develop a Rs 1-lakh car. Company chairman O Suzuki has gone on record saying the Rs 1-lakh car is not a segment Maruti would want to be in.

Source

[esteem_lover]

Where would that leave the M-800 ? I thought it would be easy to reduce the price on that more than the Alto.

[frankmehta]

i doubt the maruti 800 will be able to sustain itself till 2010, not sales wise, but there will be some Safety Regulations in by next year that would force manufacturers to pull the plug on archaic cars with minimal safety features.

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Where would that leave the M-800 ? I thought it would be easy to reduce the price on that more than the Alto.

Read this from the quoted post

Maruti has decided that it’s too expensive to upgrade the M800 to meet the Euro 4 emission norms.

In 2010, 11 cities in India will embrace Euro 4, and the M800 will be phased out from these markets. As the rest of the country moves to the new emission standard, the M800 will slowly be phased out countrywide.

[Sowmya]

Even I heard that Maruti is planning for a smaller version of the 800.

May be some thing like this M80

[Anthym]

Could it be that Maruti pitches the Alto aganist the Nano in urban areas and M800 in the rural areas. As in any case only 11 cities are expected to embrace Euro 4 in 2010. That leaves a substantial part of the country that is still not Euro 4 compliant and serves as a market for the M800.
Will be a good fight to watch.

[narayan]

I only hope the road infrastructure catches up by then !!

[nanopano]

I don't think that Alto will be able to take over Nano. These are two different cars falling in different price segment and are packed with their unique features.

[SBR]

Well, if there is any company which can take on NANO, it can only be our desi Maruti.

When Indica was launched, many predicted a end of road to M800 and ZEN but that did not happen.

[Technocrat]

Whats Desi about Maruti apart from the name?

[ksethuram]

Nano's driveability and performance will be crutial if it wants to topple Alto. Neverthless if alto goes through a price reduction i bet we will get cardboard door pads. no a/c, no Power steering, skinny wheels, bland white paint, may be even 3 studded wheels and a single wiper etc.. etc.. the list goes on....

[akhilesh51]

Originally Posted by Anthym

Could it be that Maruti pitches the Alto aganist the Nano in urban areas and M800 in the rural areas. As in any case only 11 cities are expected to embrace Euro 4 in 2010. That leaves a substantial part of the country that is still not Euro 4 compliant and serves as a market for the M800.
Will be a good fight to watch.

In case Maruti does drop prices to meet (or compete) with Nano, What happens to people who have recently bought Alto and are banking on its re-sale value.

Such a move could potentially spell disaster for Maruti camp!!!

[sidindica]

one idea to maruti to slash the alto's price:

put omni's interior.