Maruti Suzuki India has revealed that they plan to invest Rs. 2000 crores in their diesel manufacturing plant located in Gurgaon to boost production.
The company continues to face a major supply problem with their popular diesel models like Swift and DZire. The problem is largely connected to availability of diesel engines.
Maruti said that they aim to manufacture 1.5 lakh diesel engines this year to meet the growing demand for the related models.
The company added that they are also planning to start exporting their recently launched MUV model Ertiga to international markets by the end of this month.
Maruti Suzuki India has finally launched their multi utility vehicle Ertiga in the Indian market.
It is available in both petrol and diesel variants.
Petrol version is powered with a 1.4 liter engine and is priced in the range of Rs. 5.89-7.30 lakhs.
Diesel version is powered with a 1.3 liter engine and is priced in the range of Rs. 7.30-8.45 lakhs.
The company said:
Utility Vehicles are a promising segment, and we have been largely absent from here so far. The segment has demonstrated a compounded annual growth rate of 20 per cent over the past three years. We strongly believe that this trend will continue in future.
Maruti Suzuki India is expected to launch their mini MUV model Ertiga in the market next month.
The company said: “What we are trying here is to create a new segment of compact MPVs, just as we did with Swift in the hatchback segment. We have not been present in the MPV segment despite being the overall market leader in the country.”
Ertiga is expected to be available in both petrol and diesel versions which should ensure its success in the Indian market.
Maruti has not revealed what kind of sales they are expecting with this model. We would soon find out!
Maruti has already confirmed plans to launch a compact SUV model in the Indian market.
They are expected to showcase this model codenamed Ertiga at the upcoming Auto Expo 2012 event.
Sources say that Ertiga would be sold in India with both petrol and diesel engine options.
The company is also going to showcase their next generation k14 engine platform which would power their cars in the coming years.
A Maruti representative spoke about their plans for the future: “As the market gets more competitive, we have to gear up for the new dynamics. We are thus showing the best we can offer. The new models like the SUV, MPV and MUV will prove to the world that we are future ready. We need to get first-hand feedback for this.”
Indian market is opening up to sports utility vehicles. Mahindra is one company that has done well in this market with their models like Xylo, Scorpio and their latest launch XUV500 has also been a blockbuster.