Maruti Wants Baleno To Become A Global Success

In its new avatar, the Baleno marque has been nothing short of a sensation for Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL). While the old Baleno, which was a sedan placed above the iconic Maruti Esteem, didn’t do any good for the company’s reputation, the new Baleno hatchback has managed to outgun all its competition in less than a year’s time, since its production started on October 26 last year. It has been such a good recipe for the Japanese car firm that the Baleno became the first ever India-made Maruti product that was exported to Japan.

Recently, MSIL announced that the Baleno hatchback has clocked 1 lakh unit sales in the domestic market. While it is being exported from India to several countries in Latin America, Middle East and South East Asia, the Japanese car firm has announced that it wants the Baleno to become a global success. To achieve this, the company is contemplating to expand the hatchback’s export reach to over 100 countries across the globe.

The new list of countries will include the Caribbean Islands, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Lebanon, Kuwait, UAE, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Honduras, Panama, South Africa, Peru, and Indonesia.

Since the launch of the Baleno, MSIL has managed to export around 38,000 units of the hatchback to countries such as France, Denmark, Australia, England, Austria, Japan, Italy, Hungary, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Bhutan, Nepal, Switzerland, Germany, Israel and Chile.

While all that is great news for the Japanese car firm, it surely raises a question about its production capability in India. Two of Maruti’s hot-selling products, Baleno and Vitara Brezza, currently command a waiting period of at least 6 months in its domestic market. As of now, the company is working hard to bring its new production plant in Gujarat, where the Baleno and the company’s new products will be built, up and running as soon as possible. However, with the plan of exporting the Baleno to several more destinations across the globe, it is possible that Maruti will face difficulties in lowering the waiting period down for the in-demand hatchback in India.