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Don't forget, you can never drift a FWD!" some Hungarians released a video of a new Suzuki Swift Sport... drifting.
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So the next time somebody asks you for a cheap new car that can drift, forget about the Miata and the GT 86, just recommend this little Suzuki.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU8ptkRO9iI Link
Curious to know what the reason is behind ruling out the Swift Sport.
To me, reasons like "it's not a mass market car", "margins may be high but volumes are low", "aspirational cars do not sound cash-registers", "the Boosterjet Baleno is there for just that reason", "too expensive for India", "will eat into the assembly line and stall production of cars that otherwise being volumes", "their fingers were burnt and lessons were learned after the Vitara / Kizashi debacle", etc. are reasons I refuse to accept.
It's no secret that Maruti sells the more cars than any other manufacturer in the country. 50% market share is not just a lion's share of the volumes, it's sheer dominance. For every 2 cars sold in our country, 1 is a Maruti!
It has taken Hyundai 20 years of trial and error to achieve volumes that are half of Maruti's.
Honestly, what is the risk in selling a car that may or may not sell 1000 cars a month? Is it a risk so large that it will cripple or stagnate the growth of a car company that has established itself to the extent Maruti has?
VB-San made an excellent point earlier. India being THE market for Maruti, the least one would expect is to see their entire portfolio. What is the point of Nexa if opportunities such as this are wasted routinely?
But then again, I'm taken back to the time when represetatives of Maruti holding high posts had catagorically admitted that the cars' bodyshells are wafer thin because regulations don't provide for stringent safety provisions and that it's not required by law. Should we really expect great things from a brand that's milking it's customers in India because they know they can, and that they don't need to go the extra mile for their premier market? I suppose not.
Honestly, I miss manual cars and if the Swift Sport were made available, I may strongly consider selling my Polo and buying the Swift Sport. And I'm certain there are several others like me who wouldn't mind springing a little extra for what is a special model.
This is a disappointment, to say the least. I would have definitely considered upgrading to this from the Fiesta 1.6S.
The reason is that the upper management people at Maruti are so used to seeing the number and volumes, that they cannot think of any other way to sell their products. The statement a few weeks ago saying that the BoosterJet did not do enough volumes is a testament to this fact. 2000 RS per month is more than all Fiats, VW, and Skoda put together. They'd do anything to attain these sales every month.
Maruti is just being shortsighted. All hopes for the affordable everyday performance now rests with the Tata JTP twins.
I guess Maruti in cars is like Hero when it comes to bikes. Mass market leader, enough revenues and capital to take risks, but look at Hero's take on a 'cutting-edge' bike, far behind the competition!
I guess it's a 'if it isin't broke, why fix it?' situation/mentality. For them innovation in the assembly line, dealership network, sourcing, sales, etc. which translate to profits makes more sense than innovation in design, technology, safety, etc. And apart from the safety bit (or lack of it in Marutis), I don't think that's such a bad thing for a shareholder. For the enthusiast, well. :)
And lets face it, India is a market that doesn't really reward 'cutting edge' performance. What are the sales numbers for the truly performance-oriented bikes/cars. Really dismal.
Couldn't Maruti launch Swift Sport (or RS) with Baleno RS' 1.0 Turbo petrol ? It would still be under small car regulations and the motor is already produced for Baleno RS. Am I missing something here ?
It is not difficult to launch variants of a model, when you have the variants running on the same platform across different world markets.
Question finally boils down to incremental developmental costs and projected demand in proposed new market.
If the Swift Sport is to be launched in our market additional cost components such as engine import costs(the 1.0L BoosterJet is imported), additional homologation costs, brake and suspension upgrades, feature & content upgrades etc will add at least a lakh of rupees or even slightly more to the regular Swift's sticker price. Anything more and even enthusiasts won't buy. And Maruti will have a difficult job positioning it against the Baleno and justifying it to customers.
Maruti would need to sell at least 20% of monthly Swift volumes to break even and post some operating break even. It'll be difficult.
As apart from a handful of enthusiast's, the regular hatchback buyer , that is the "mass market" will think twice before spending more on an "apparently identical" looking model "which just goes faster".
Car buying in India is a household decision. For an enthusiast eyeing the Swift Sport gleefully, he would be typically confronted with the following:
Common questions from the wifey's, mum's, dad's, et al will be: why are you spending a lakh more on a same Swift? Just because it goes a bit faster? It looks the same doesn't it? And I don't like the new colour at all! Where will you go so fast? Till the next traffic lights? Don't you know in cities like Mumbai, Delhi , Bangalore etc during peak time you can't cross 20kmph? And why don't you save the one lakh and put it in an SIP? Your daughter is growing up, you need to plan for her future too!
At this point of time Mr Enthusiast has gone "phhuttt" and is already "Dzire"-ing, (pun intended) to buy something more docile.
When the Punto Abarth was launched how many actually bought the car compared to the levels of interest shown? Even for that matter, how many Baleno RS's have found garages?
The Indian mass market customer needs to technically mature a bit more before OEM's start introducing niche variants. Till then , as OEM's say, "the business case doesn't make sense"
Dear Friends,
I am compelled to write this post after a very close friend (since school days) was thoroughly disappointed when he found out that Swift Sports 1.4 was not going to be launched in India. He was compelled to write a letter to MSIL and discussed with me analytically, on why MSIL is so oblivious to core auto enthusiasts. Our discussion spanned 2 hours and I couldn't help but agree to many points he justified. agree:
I told him, if he does end up writing such a letter, that he share an e-copy with me and that I would post it on team bhp. He has emailed it to MSIL as well as sent a physical copy to the company headquarters, addressed to the CEO by registered post. Attaching the 3-page letter here. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and his justifications make a lot of sense. I hope that many people talk about this, and maybe someone here is well connected with top management at MSIL. In that case, I really hope this letter gets read by important decision makers. Please share your thoughts on this letter.
PS: I am a general surgeon and log in about once a week given my rampant schedules. So please forgive me if I am not responding in a timely manner to any queries.
Swift Sport- Long term review!
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The most important part of the interview process, however, comes in the drive. As with the looks, first impressions are positive; the steering feels well weighted and precise, the pedals are well positioned for heel-and-toe downshifts, and the gearbox, although not as snappy as it could be, is positive.
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2019 Suzuki Swift Sport custom debuts –
Looks even more sporty with updates
Plans of launching Suzuki Swift Sport in India have been dropped, as it will be too expensive.
2019 Suzuki Swift Sport custom marks its debut at the Bangkok International Motor Show, which went LIVE a few hours ago. Seen with a special paint scheme, which has been further enhanced by body graphics, giving it an even sportier appeal.
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Though the new custom Suzuki Swift Sport carries on with most of its original styling in its exterior makeup, it gets a large diffuser, sportier bumper and new honeycomb front grille.
It also gets body colored headlamp eyelashes, dual racing stripes painted across its hood and twin air scoops.
2019 Suzuki Swift Sport gets its power via a K14C 1.4 liter Boosterjet petrol engine offering 140 PS power at 5,500 rpm and 230 Nm torque at 2,500-3,500 rpm.
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Maruti Suzuki has shown no interest in launching the Swift Sport in India. The reason, as per the company, there is poor demand for the more powerful variant of Swift, as it does not meet the demand of most buyers in the segment, which is mileage. Most car buyers opting for Swift, do so because of its exceptionally high fuel efficiency.
LINK Images
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Originally Posted by JS Kwt
(Post 4565173)
Maruti Suzuki has shown no interest in launching the Swift Sport in India. The reason, as per the company, there is poor demand for the more powerful variant of Swift, as it does not meet the demand of most buyers in the segment, which is mileage. Most car buyers opting for Swift, do so because of its exceptionally high fuel efficiency.
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For Suzuki, the made for India, low manufacturing cost models which can consistently sell 5000+ units make sense. Unfortunately, enthusiasts are not a category they cater to in their largest market.
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Originally Posted by vb-san
(Post 4565427)
For Suzuki, the made for India, low manufacturing cost models which can consistently sell 5000+ units make sense. Unfortunately, enthusiasts are not a category they cater to in their largest market.
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Nothing sadder than this, especially given that a small section discerning customers are willing to pay more for performance. From a market which didnt even know or bother about what performance cars were, to a much more mature market where there is a recognisable cross section of enthusiasts and buyers who enjoy strongly performing cars, the Indian automobile buyer has certainly evolved. Not to the extent in western countries, but definitely better than before.
In light of the above, harping on fuel economy and average performance, and refusing to give performance models even a shot - speaks poorly for the market leader who continues to own more than 50% of the Indian market anyways.
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