[noopster]

The Kizashi positioning strategy is a total puzzle to me. At this price (20 lac OTR give or take) the only car it will almost certainly cannibalize is the Skoda Laura L&K (and how many of those sell anyway? Even Skoda's own sales staff veer you towards the Superb, sir sirf ek laak zyaada hai!). I can't imagine anyone choosing a kizashi over a Superb or Accord, frankly.
It is a CBU yes, but surely a company as mature as Maruti should know how to plan for the long term? Eventually they are going to build them here and the price will come down. So why price it so high now?
This could have been a complete death knell for Laura and Cruze. By going after the Accord, these guys have shot themselves in the foot.
Pity.

[mjothi]

Originally Posted by noopster

It is a CBU yes, but surely a company as mature as Maruti should know how to plan for the long term? Eventually they are going to build them here and the price will come down. So why price it so high now?

Exactly my thoughts.

If they are going to built them here in say 2 years, then will the price will be around 10-12Lac? If so, it will look too bad for someone who bought it before that. Right? Resale also will fall.

Not sure how Maruti is planing for this.

[romeomidhun]

Originally Posted by mjothi

Exactly my thoughts.

If they are going to built them here in say 2 years, then will the price will be around 10-12Lac? If so, it will look too bad for someone who bought it before that. Right? Resale also will fall.

Not sure how Maruti is planing for this.

Definitely the 'Indian made' Kizashi should be priced around 10-12L. For a consolation to those who bought it before that, Maruti can do one thing: reduce the engine size of the 'India made' Kizashi to 1800CC or 2000CC (but keep all other goodies the same).

[nickatnite]

Any pics from the launch event?.

[gshanky]

Originally Posted by romeomidhun

Definitely the 'Indian made' Kizashi should be priced around 10-12L. For a consolation to those who bought it before that, Maruti can do one thing: reduce the engine size of the 'India made' Kizashi to 1800CC or 2000CC (but keep all other goodies the same).

I don't think it would happen. If Kizashi is a mid size sedan, it will be competing with mid size sedans like camry and accord. May be the perception is that the brand value is not enough. But Suzuki has to start somewhere and where else do they have the best brand equity? So india should have been the market where Suzuki should be focusing on all their products. But I am not sure if they will ever treat india as the home market.

In the last year, Kizashi has proven to be a reliable car. Though the sales don't reflect that, the long term reviews I have seen in USA does reveal that. The best option for Suzuki is to keep improving the product and keep competing. Reducing the price eventually reduces the value of the product and no manufacturer will do that.

To put things in perspective, Kizashi is probably the lowest priced mid size sedan leaving out the Sonata transform. It is a fact that the interior space is less, but on the contrary it is one of the best handlers in the segment.

It would be interesting to see how the bookings have been so far.

[noopster]

IMHO reducing a car's price a few years after launch does nothing except dilute its brand equity. If Kizashi had been around 18 lac OTR instead of 20+, it would have appealed perfectly to those considering Laura/Altis/Cruze AND possibly cannibalised on Superb/Accord sales as well. I am sure Maruti can sustain this kind of investment for a year ot two till they get their production off the ground and then they could have laughed their way to the bank. Anyway SX4 barely sells- so it would even help them if people considering a C/C+ sedan waited and upgraded directly to Kizashi. Can't help but think Maruti has missed a trick here.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by mjothi

Exactly my thoughts.

If they are going to built them here in say 2 years, then will the price will be around 10-12Lac? If so, it will look too bad for someone who bought it before that. Right? Resale also will fall.

Not sure how Maruti is planing for this.

Originally Posted by romeomidhun

Definitely the 'Indian made' Kizashi should be priced around 10-12L. For a consolation to those who bought it before that, Maruti can do one thing: reduce the engine size of the 'India made' Kizashi to 1800CC or 2000CC (but keep all other goodies the same).

I dont think this will ever be a strategy unless they want to do a Baleno here as well. I guess the idea was to launch Kizashi in a good profitable price initially and then if the sales are good, bring in the CKD and keep the pricing same and get extra profit !! But its already bombed!! No way out for Maruti here.

The best way for Maruti to become a winner was to bring in Kizashi with exceptional VFM and a killer pricing and then move up the ladder. The very good example is the i20. Hyundai has exceptionally done well and will always be treated with respect in this regard - they brought in a brilliant product with hell lots of equipments and a sensible pricing [against the Jazz] where people was quite happy and willing to pay the price quoted. Now for any model they bring in, if they price sensible, I am sure they will have takers against any of the models they pit against. I dont think any of the customers will feel Hyundai is just a mass market brand. And I am amazed at the new designs + the new Diesel model they are bringing in for Verna RB - they had a stonker of an engine, but they have gone one step ahead and even upgraded the existing engine to a more powerful engine though there was no complain on the power parameter for the existing Verna.

[khoj]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

I dont think this will ever be a strategy unless they want to do a Baleno here as well. I guess the idea was to launch Kizashi in a good profitable price initially and then if the sales are good, bring in the CKD and keep the pricing same and get extra profit !! But its already bombed!! No way out for Maruti here.

Launched on the 2nd and already guessed and declared that it has bombed by 5th night.

For reasons unknown this thread is getting members to post some of the most outlandish statements.

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by khoj

Launched on the 2nd and already guessed and declared that it has bombed by 5th night.

For reasons unknown this thread is getting members to post some of the most outlandish statements.

So true. People have been trashing this simply because of its price, without probably seeing it or understanding what it offers. A little immature I would say. Of course everybody would have loved to have it at a much lesser cost. And it may not even succeed. But to pass that verdict we need to wait for a few months I guess. May be some people cannot accept that Maruti could come up with something like this.

Originally Posted by noopster

...Anyway SX4 barely sells
...

Where do you get these facts from? Look at the http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...or-sedans.html thread to see where the SX4 stands with respect to its sales. Please refrain from making sweeping statements without knowing the facts. I will hardly say "barely sells" for a car that is selling in numbers as given below.

Aug 2010 Maruti SX4: 2048
Sep 2010 Maruti SX4 : 1965
Oct 2010 Maruti SX4 : 1977
Nov 2010 Maruti SX4 : 1305
Dec 2010 Maruti SX4 : 761
Jan 2011 Maruti SX4 : 2159

[xingamazon]

Are we getting the official Test Drive of Kizashi or not. Why has Maruti not summoned the test drives yet? Any reason.

I am just dieing to read yet another unbiased test drives on TBHP. That would exactly give the picture of if its worth the money or not. My collegue is seriously thinking about Kizashi. Though I have said no to it, just want to reconfirm myself after goign thro the Official Test Drive.

[khoj]

Originally Posted by pjbiju

So true. People have been trashing this simply because of its price, without probably seeing it or understanding what it offers. A little immature I would say. Of course everybody would have loved to have it at a much lesser cost. And it may not even succeed. But to pass that verdict we need to wait for a few months I guess. May be some people cannot accept that Maruti could come up with something like this

.
I believe you have hit the nail on the head. The poor cousin just moved up a few rungs and in the process has ruffled a lot of feathers.

Originally Posted by pjbiju

Where do you get these facts from? Look at the http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...or-sedans.html thread to see where the SX4 stands with respect to its sales. Please refrain from making sweeping statements without knowing the facts. I will hardly say "barely sells" for a car that is selling in numbers as given below.

Aug 2010 Maruti SX4: 2048
Sep 2010 Maruti SX4 : 1965
Oct 2010 Maruti SX4 : 1977
Nov 2010 Maruti SX4 : 1305
Dec 2010 Maruti SX4 : 761
Jan 2011 Maruti SX4 : 2159

Well said. Reflects on the state of affairs on the forum in recent times.

Originally Posted by VW2010

The more I read the price the more i feel the sales of Accord or Superb will be more. If i was one of those who waited for Kizhashi I would now look at superb as my car and skip Kizhashi.

Well, if the back seat were where one would be all the time then yes, your statement is correct. If it is 50:50 between the front and rear then it is the Accord.

However, if it is not just self driving but seat of the pants driving then Kizashi it has to be.

Originally Posted by asr245

I for one sure like it. Sure it would have been cheaper if they assembled it locally but it's still cheaper than competition around. I like the idea of a powerful engine in a car that's smaller than accord/camry. In today's traffic it would be much easier to drive this one around in city and gas it on the highways. Being a CBU, I am sure it has better plastics and finishing than what most manufactures offer us here.

The way I look at it, it's smaller than an Accord but just as powerful. Hell, I like it! I would be in absolute minority though. Only drawback might be higher spare costs.

Welcome to the club. You are right about the numbers but remember "The meek shall inherit the Earth" . You know I will run out of fingers if I were to start counting the number of reviews coming out of the US where testers are calling the AWD version an Audi A4 Quattaro for $10,000/- less

Now if only I could somehow get the Blue Streak to fetch a fair price for itself

[azeemhafiz]

After having read most of the comments, I believe this car could have been launched after a slightly strong branding exercise. May be they could have emphasized the way Kizashi is perceived in the US Market, or their involvement in various rally circuits (not sure if they still take part, but thats were swift gets its sweet handling chassis from).

The top end Kizashi is priced close to the entry level end Accord. Now if Maruti is able to deliver a premium and well build car it is terrific value for money.

As a forum we cannot go after Maruti for having priced this one in the 16.5 - 18.5 category, it still delivers exceptional value in comparison to other brands. Moreover, We live in a country where Honda has the ability to stick badges to stray dogs and still sell them at a premium.

If we as a forum emphasize on Value for Money could some one please justify the price of the Honda Jazz, Civic and the audacity of Honda to price the CRV at that high price?

[noopster]

@khoj around 10,000 cars in 6 months when ANHC sells 4-5K a month consistently is why I said SX4 "barely sells". It's a fair opinion considering Vento has reached and exceeded this number in its first few months of sales. I have nothing against Maruti being a Swift owner myself. Please don't include me in the list of people trashing the Kizashi. I think it's a great enough car (will reserve final judgement till I read some expert opinions and TD it myself) but (a). it seems overpriced; and (b). The reason cited for the high price (CBU) seems silly because MSIL can afford to absorb some costs as an investment to making this a true category killer.

Originally Posted by azeemhafiz

If we as a forum emphasize on Value for Money could some one please justify the price of the Honda Jazz, Civic and the audacity of Honda to price the CRV at that high price?

You cannot. And yet people buy them. Value is not defined the same way by any two people. But Maruti is targeting the family sedan segment here and from a "sensible" point of view, the car seems overpriced. That's all. I hope this car sells like hot cakes but frankly don't think it's going to happen.

[gshanky]

Originally Posted by mjothi

Exactly my thoughts.

If they are going to built them here in say 2 years, then will the price will be around 10-12Lac? If so, it will look too bad for someone who bought it before that. Right? Resale also will fall.

Not sure how Maruti is planing for this.

Originally Posted by noopster

IMHO reducing a car's price a few years after launch does nothing except dilute its brand equity. If Kizashi had been around 18 lac OTR instead of 20+, it would have appealed perfectly to those considering Laura/Altis/Cruze AND possibly cannibalised on Superb/Accord sales as well. I am sure Maruti can sustain this kind of investment for a year ot two till they get their production off the ground and then they could have laughed their way to the bank. Anyway SX4 barely sells- so it would even help them if people considering a C/C+ sedan waited and upgraded directly to Kizashi. Can't help but think Maruti has missed a trick here.

I don't think Maruti is planning on reducing the price. If the car didn't sell well and they reduce the price, everyone will know why and that may not help them that much. However, if it sells well they might either reduce the price a la Scorpio refresh or release an executive version. But at this point I hope all their focus is on marketing the product in the current price point.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by noopster

@khoj around 10,000 cars in 6 months when ANHC sells 4-5K a month consistently is why I said SX4 "barely sells". It's a fair opinion considering Vento has reached and exceeded this number in its first few months of sales. I have nothing against Maruti being a Swift owner myself. Please don't include me in the list of people trashing the Kizashi. I think it's a great enough car (will reserve final judgement till I read some expert opinions and TD it myself) but (a). it seems overpriced; and (b). The reason cited for the high price (CBU) seems silly because MSIL can afford to absorb some costs as an investment to making this a true category killer.


You cannot. And yet people buy them. Value is not defined the same way by any two people. But Maruti is targeting the family sedan segment here and from a "sensible" point of view, the car seems overpriced. That's all. I hope this car sells like hot cakes but frankly don't think it's going to happen.

+1 ! For all those people who thinks that SX4 is doing great numbers, they might want to check the competitor sales. I guess City is never seen as a VFM car, have been termed premium pricing, but no other cars in the segment could beat it. So the given sales numbers for SX4 are great compared to the competitors? That too even after offering a 50K discount for the last 1 or 2 years ??

I dont think anyone is here not wanting Maruti to bring in a car in that segment. Everyone is looking for a well priced car for the brand its holding. I remember seeing a post in this thread some time back - comparing a Nokia and iPhone and which has a better brand image.

Same goes with Kizashi as well - There are not many who thinks this car has an extremely great price - So the best bet would have been to price it comparatively less and provide more features - Aria is a wonderful example for this.

OT : My org has around 40 employees and not a single auto enthusiast think Kizashi deserves this price tag. I agree that 40 people are not a sampling data to base judgment on, but then they can pass on their feedback to their friends and family as well. I noticed that apart from the 2.4L engine, there is nothing much the Kizashi fans are talking about. Yes, it is the strongest point of this car, but how many prospective buyers in this segment bother about such a powerful engine? And I guess Laura will be a better option [as a complete package] there as well ?