That means a manufacturer looking at a market like India needs to decide whether small, cheap cars or small, expensive cars or both will work better for them, says Pavan Lall.
"While Maruti Suzuki commends these various initiatives (plans to develop and offer low-cost cars by various manufacturers), the company has no plans whatsoever of developing or offering a car in the segment below the Maruti 800," the company said in a statement.
Maruti Suzuki India growing by a paltry two per cent in January, recorded the lowest growth in this financial year, which could be due to the launch of Tata's Nano.
Tata Motors says the budget car will get run 25 kilometers to a litre and match Maruti 800 in performance.
The country's first ever carmaker, Hindustan Motors, is looking at a second coming. Talks are on for a joint venture with a European auto company focused on the electric vehicle (EV) space. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed and due diligence is expected to start shortly and will take 2-3 months to conclude.
Call it the "Nano effect" but less than a month after Tata Motors displayed its competitively-priced small car at the Delhi auto show, prices in the 1.3-million used-car market crashed 15 to 30 per cent, if not more.
To tax the small car 'like crazy' so that the market does not grow until an efficient and affordable mass transit system is in place is short-sighted in the extreme.
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) is planning to invest around Rs 18,000 crore on a new manufacturing facility in Haryana, as per a top company official. The new plant would replace the company's Gurugram-based facility and is expected to have an installed production capacity of 7.5-10 lakh units per annum. While confirming the Rs 18,000 crore investment plan, MSI chairman RC Bhargava told PTI that the company had always planned to shift the Gurugram facility to a nearby location.
Maruti Udyog Ltd, India's largest car manufacturer, on Wednesday reported a 7.8 per cent jump in sales in November even though its flagship Maruti-800 car saw a slump.
Maruti Udyog Ltd on Thursday launched the non-AC version of Alto priced at Rs 230,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi).
Maruti Udyog Ltd, India's biggest carmaker, has posted a 69.8 per cent rise in sales in July 2003, helped by a continued spurt in demand for the entry- level model 'Maruti-800'.
MSI launched the Alto in September 2000. The company then introduced a 1,000-cc version of the car, the Alto K10, in August 2010.
The car is unforgettable for its low-maintenance, reliability, and space.
Maruti says, WagonR is one of the top 5 brands in India.
Ambassador has been the people's car, the politician's car, and the India's Rolls Royce all rolled in one.
From the torch, to the gas cylinder, to the sewing machine, to a whistle, to a camera... Uttarakhand's Independent candidates are in the fray with some interesting election symbols.
Maruti Udyog Ltd, India's biggest carmaker, on Wednesday raised prices by Rs 2,000-3,000 on all models except entry-level car Maruti-800.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh does not own any land, agricultural or non-agricultural, but owns a 1996 model Maruti 800 car and has movable assets, including fixed deposits, of over Rs 3.87 crore.
Maruti India started year 2012 with a bang and launched 5 cars, and promises to launch five more this year.
Small car wizard, Maruti Suzuki's supremacy goes back to the year 1983 when the carmaker started its innings in India.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Cabinet of ministers on Saturday declared their assets.
One of the biggest worries of a car owner is somebody stealing their vehicle.
The festive season is the time when car manufacturers offer major discounts and freebies to lure customers and Hyundai has decided to cash in on the occasion with Eon.
This is the era of affordable cars and car manufacturers across the world are trying to come up with affordable cars that can be sold like hot cakes.
Burned by the shooting down of a MiG-21 aircraft and the capture of its pilot after a dogfight over the India-Pakistan border in February 2019, CATS eliminates the need to send pilots into enemy air space.
New units of the iconic Maruti 800, Ford Ikon (1.3 petrol), Fiat Palio, Skoda Fabia (1.2 petrol) and Octavia (1.9 TDI engine), and Chevrolet Tavera (2.5 DI) of General Motors will no longer be sold in the 13 notified cities from Thursday, which constitute 40-50 per cent of total car sales in the country.
With the domestic small car market heating up, Korean major Hyundai Motors is lining up a new release for India. The vehicle, which is slated to hit the roads in the second half of 2011, is likely to sport a price tag not much higher than that of Maruti's cheapest variant -- the Maruti 800.
Maruti Suzuki India said it would be investing Rs 1,250 crore (Rs 12.50 billion) to double capacity at its K-series petrol engine unit in Gurgaon to 500,000 by 2012.
Twenty years ago, a branded 1.5-tonne window air-conditioner cost about Rs 30,000; today, you can get a split AC unit for that price. Why has that not happened with vegetables?
India-specific hatchbacks took centrestage at the 10th Auto Expo, in New Delhi. Check them out!
Maruti Udyog Ltd, India's biggest carmaker, on Monday said domestic sales grew 10 per cent at 40,175 units in July 2004 as its compact cars notched up impressive numbers.
A powerful car bomb was found in the Manipur Raj Bhawan complex, in Imphal, the police said on Friday. The police has taken away the vehicle for further investigations. They are looking for the driver of the car, the police added.
Swift Dzire delivered on its promise of being a proper sedan and found favour with Derby respondents.
Asked if it is looking at the Maruti 800 and the Chevrolet Spark segment, Nigel E Wark, executive director, marketing, sales and service, Ford India, said: "Yes, we will be launching the small car in this segment broadly, but there are sub-segments and this is where we will differentiate ourselves. We will be competing in the largest volume segment. India and China are the two markets where small cars are in huge demand and we will be focusing on these countries."
Along with the M800, MSI will also be phasing out its second oldest model, the utility van Omni. In the initial phase, the two models will be done away with in 11 cities from next year, where the Bharat Stage-IV emission norms (which is equivalent to Euro-IV norms) will become applicable. The company would not upgrade the engines of these two models to meet better emission standards, he said while also ruling out their replacements.
Prices of second-hand cars, mainly compact ones, have fallen 15-20% in the last few days. Dealers in the unorganised market fear a further price dip of 10 per cent when delivery starts and the Nano is seen prominently on roads. The Nano, expected to sport an on-road price of Rs 1.25-1.3 lakh for the no-frills, base version, will compete with the compact cars of Hyundai Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and General Motors.
