Maruti to fast track its new 800 launch

Maruti Suzuki, which has suffered a huge fall in sales due to its Manesar lock out, is now looking to fast track the launch of its New Alto 800 to push up volumes. The New Alto 800 will be rolled out of Gurgaon plant. Sources say the New Alto could be priced at around 2 lakh and will compete with Hyundai Eon and Tata Nano.

ET now learns that the company will not delay the launch of its new Alto as they are looking to regain their market share and volumes by the launch ever since the lock out at Maruti's Manesar plant the company has witnessed a sales loss of close to Rs 2,000 crore.

This reality has hit the company hard as two of its best selling models Swift and Dzire manufactured at Manesar unit is completely out of stock and continues to have a long waiting period. Currently, around 41 % of the total sales of the company are driven by Swift and Swift Dzire, which means of the company's average monthly sales of around 80,000 units, these two models contribute around 33,000 units.

Meanwhile, the company is pitching to gain for their lost share with the Alto sales. Alto CNG variant sales have picked up during the last two to three months. This is also due to high petrol prices and uncertainty pertaining to excise duty on diesel engine.

Alto continues to be one of the largest selling model from the Maruti stable. ET Now also learns that Maruti is considering to launch the CNG variant in states where it did not have presence so far. The company is currently running full capacity at its Gurgaon plant and with Manesar plant being operational in near future, the company will fast track its plans to cash in on the festive demand.