Maruti has no plan to introduce common man's car

Kolkata, Dec 07 (UNI)Maruti Udyog Limited(MUL) has no immediate plan to make forays in the production of Rs one lakh car segment to compete with Tata Motors, MUL Chief General Manager(Marketing)Mayank Pareek said here today.

Speaking to newsmen after formally launching the three variants of Maruti's stylish new car "Zen Estilo" in the city, Mr Pareek however, refused to agreee with the view that when launched(in 2008)the Tata Motors' new small car would drAstrically reduce the sales of Maruti cars, particularly the 800 cc ones and Alto.

On the contrary,Mr Pareek said,the sales of Maturi cars of all variants would continue to be on the rise both within the country and abroad.

Presnelty Maruti exported its cars to 70 odd countries and with about 60 per cent growth in export volume since last year,MUL had decided to enter into several new global markets like those in South Africa,Algeria and Egypt among many other countries,Mr Pareek said.

Describing the initial customers' response to "Zen Estilo" which hit Delhi streets only three days ago, as "overwhlelming", he said they were confident of reaching the all India monthly sales target of around 7,000 units shortly.

The introductory prices of the three varients of the new car, ex-showroom,Kolkata was to the tune of Rs 3,20,222 for LX model,Rs 3,49,244 for Lxi model and Rs 3,74521 for the top class Vxi model, Mr Pareek informed adding that the all the models would be available in seven attractive colours.

He said "Mono Form" shaped ZEN Estilo was designed indigenously by the MUL engineers with a view to providing a visual stability to customers.

Claiming that the car was "roomier" than earlier zen which has already been phased out,Mr Pareek said it had now come with a bigger and fuel efficient 1061 cc engine,a superior air conditioning system and having higher road clearance,suitable for Indian roads.

Ruling out the possibility of any export plan for the new car in near future because of the MUL's decision to concentrate more in the domestic market,Mr Pareek denied that the company had any proposal to phase out the 800 cc and the Esteem models in a phased manner.

"We are not aware of any such plan. Rather we have decided to market both the products more aggresively because of their huge potential in segregated market".

He also ruled out that MUL was expecting any threat from the Tata Motors proposed small new car of Rs one lakh.We are ready to face the challenge when it comes, he opined.

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