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-   -   1 crore cars by Maruti (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/98092-1-crore-cars-maruti-2.html)

which reminds me why i bought good amount of maruti stocks which made me good profits in last year. :), well i am explaining this more before mods send me note saying its one liner. Maruti stocks was available at good price thought 2010 while tatamotors was booming for future plans (still booming). However, one can easily guess who is the biggest car maker in India?, its maruti, hence it make sense investing in such stable company.

Congratulations! to Maruti Suzuki!
Though Suzuki owns major share, for me it's an Indian company extensively using Japanese technology. Suzuki is not that successful in any other country. It was actually a "Maruti car" even now for most of the Indians. I cannot agree that they catered to Indian needs. There wasn't much choice when they entered India. It was breath of fresh air into the stale car industry that time. And as they were the sole producers of new age cars for the Indian market for a long time, the network got built up and so the confidence. But today's car buyer has lot more choice or better quality cars. Most of the times, a Maruti Suzuki car is a compromise.

i wouldnt agree to this. Buying a car from MSIL isnt a compromise. Because a car isnt just metal and plastic, too many factors play here; the notable ones being after sales service, affordability, repairability, FE and resale. I do not think any manufacturer can match MSIL in all these aspects.

Kudos to MSIL for the milestone.

Congrats MSIL for the great achievement! Kudos to the company and people for achieving this milestone.

But I always felt sad when the 'M' logo got displacd by the 'S', somehow made me feel that the true identity / core purpose of the company had been lost. But hey, they are still the best in all parameters for affordable cars for indian families. That just shows the commitment to the Indian Dream concieved when the company was first started.

They have put forth a path of legacy that very few companies have achieved. Great going folks, eagerly awaiting more cars @ less price & even better mileage!

Wonder which company will bag the 1 crore figure next in India? My heart wishes to see another Indian company (TATAs), but the mind sees that Hyundai will more likely cross it, say in another 7 years (on the logic of 1.1 million vehicles sold last fiscal)

MSIL A-S-S seems to be a myth. A-S-S is not just having a lot of service centers. But what matters is the quality of service. I myself own a Maruti Suzuki car. I assumed that more service centers will certainly play an edge in building competition. But that does not happen in MSIL case.

MSIL certainly gets the price right, when compared to its competitors. But price alone cannot give satisfaction. Many Tata cars provide better FE than MSIL ones. Resale value is again a myth. I had a friend who had a tough time selling his Zen. But another one who had an Indica was able to find a buyer easily at the price point he quoted. It very much depends on several other factors. Also, MSIL cars certainly age sooner with a lot of rattling and road noise peeping in, when compared to a similarly priced Hyundai.

Congratulations to Maruti. And they still service the 1crore customers with the same smile and same effort.

QoS does matter and like with other manufacturers, there would be Maruti service-centres that do crappy service and need to be avoided.

But to dismiss the wide network as a myth is not correct. The small town in Kerala where my parents live has 2 Maruti and 1 Hyundai service centres. Since the nearest Honda/Toyota service centre is 110km and 2.5 hours away, you can imagine the effort/time required to even get a routine service done. Who has a day to waste to get a service done ? And if it were serious repairs or accident repairs, imagine the effort involved in following up the work on a routine basis. More service centres is indeed a boon - apart from providing choice for the customer.

Did not understand what you mean by building competition and its relation to more service centres.

To give an example, last Sunday we were TD-ing SX4/Etios/Dzire/Vento for a friend who wanted to trade in his 4-year Alto-LXi and get one of these. TrueValue was ready to give him 1.8L after their valuation. I would think, he can get 10-20K more by selling to direct buyer. For a car that he paid 3L 4-years ago. Not bad resale in my opinion.

I think it would help to read up the thread on Hyundais (i10 / i20) that come with rattles straight from the factory. Not to mention a/c issues & service problems for which there is another thread.

1 crore cars is a wonderful achievement by MSIL. I just goes on to show the faith Indian customers have in the maruti name. Almost anything from their stable is lapped up by us. This has led India be their largest market in the whole world. Kudos for that

But However I feel we in India have been given somewhat like a raw deal even by the MSIL.
I mean it takes them close to two years to launch the Kizashi in India.
The Fiat can give us the palio sport or the Grand Punto 90 hp, VW can give us the polo 1.6 heck even the tata have a vista 90 hp, but still we cant get the swift sport. Pity considering the fact that Maruti is the leading car maker in the country and this their largest market.
They finally get the SX4 diesel here but with what? The same old 1.3 but with a VGT when they already have the 1.9 doing duty on the aussie spec SX4. I mean if VW can give a 1.6 on their vento and still price it well why cant MSIL.?

Now before I m castigated for writing a Maruti bashing post, I myself own a Swift Petrol 1.3 love it despite all its issues and really believe that MSIL does give brilliant value for money on its models, but the leader sometimes needs to take the bull by its horn and do something truly game changing to set up a standard and send across a message "hey this is our backyard we rule here match us if you can" .
A swift sport a 1.9 Sx4 or even a better prized kizashi launched here along with other countries could have done just that.

Till then its just playing safe doing the same things its been doing since years.. No harm in that too as its giving them the moolahs and they are still faar ahead of the pack...

I agree to this.

When there are more service centers nearby, consumers have a choice and the service centers tend to provide better service than the other to attract customers.

True. But my experience was different, despite the car being in very good condition.

Rattles from the factory. That could be a one-off case. I always felt more confident with the Hyundai cars build quality when compared to MSIL. This is my personal experience.

No hard feelings. MSIL is certainly doing good in India and it certainly has its own advantages. But my point is similar to that of vibbs. Why MSIL is still not improving its cars for the country which made that No.1? Do you want to say that there is no room for improvement in MSIL cars?

^^^
Ofcourse there is room for improvement. But there is a vast disconnect between what we on tbhp see as improvement (more powerful / sporty versions) vs general improvement in terms of fit, finish and quality. The former would be catering to just a niche segment as seen when comparing sales of Palio1.6 vs Palio 1.1/1.2/1.3 versions or Fiesta1.6 vs Fiesta-D versions and might not prompt companies to invest their effort/money in. The latter is indeed welcome as it would be appreciated by all consumers.

BTW, there was an article in a Mallu newspaper about the 1-crore milestone with the figures of intermediate milestones making for interesting reading.

1983 : Starts production
1994 : Reaches 10 lakh sales (takes 11 years)
1997 : Reaches 20 lakhs (next 10lakhs in just 3 years)
2005 : Reaches 50 lakhs (in 22 years)
2011 : Hits 1 crore (next 50lakhs in 6 years)