Maruti to export 1 lk A-star's in first year

Bangalore, Nov 20: Maruti Suzuki's much touted compact hatchback A-star will hit the foreign markets in January and the car making giant expects to sell one lakh cars in the first year.

Briefing newspersons on the product, after it was launched in the city today, MSIL Executive Officer (Marketing and Sales) Mayank Pareek said his company was eyeing a domestic sales of 50,000 units in 2009. "We have a capacity of three lakh cars in our Manesar plant where we will produce this new baby. We can step up the production to 3.5 per annum. This plant is also producing SX4, Swift and Desire at present. A-star is a vehicle made in India for global acceptance," he said.

He said, in India, the new product was positioned at the youth who always look for something new. The fifth generation Auto, on which A-star is based, would come only in petrol version and there would be no diesel variant in the near future.

He said in the A-2 segment, to which A-star belongs, Maruti was the leader having sold 80,000 cars last year compared to the total market of 3.7 lakh.

Explaining reasons for calling A-star a 'green car', Mr Pareek said the new offering is made out of 85 per cent recycled material and it was Euro-5 compliant. "Our first exports will be to the Europe where the Euro-5 is already in vogue. This is a green car because of its great mileage, 19.59 km to a litre. This makes it a great car to drive in the city conditions," he said.

He said though A-star was the fifth car in the Maruti stables, they were not too many. "We are looking to cater to specific segments which are emerging. Our strategy is to be a dominant player in all," he added.

UNI