With automatic manual transmission (AMT) kits to manufactured in India, Maruti Suzuki – the biggest carmaker -- expects the waiting period of its AMT variant of its small car Celerio to be reduced by next year.
Maruti Suzuki, became the first manufacturer to introduce an AMT variant in a small car when its launched Celerio earlier this year. The company on Monday expanded this offering to its entry-level car – Alto K10, making it the most affordable automatic car in the country.
The value for money proposition helped AMT gain quick popularity within the consumers.
According to Maruti Suzuki, the company initially expected AMT variant to comprise 20% of its overall Celerio sales. "It has been liked so much by customers that almost 40% bookings are for the AMT variant. As the numbers are more than what we had anticipated, we are negotiating with our supplier, they are ramping up the capacity," said R S Kalsi, executive director, marketing & sales, Maruti Suzuki. Currently, the variant has a waiting period of 3-4 months.
The company currently sources its AMT kits from Magneti Marelli, which are mainly imported. With increasing demand for AMT variants in the country, the supplier is expected to start local production by next year.
"They (Magneti) are setting up a plant in India by the middle of next year. So as the localisation takes place they will be ramping up the capacity. We expect the supply scenario to be be eased out by next year," said Kalsi.
The AMT technology is fast gaining popularity among various car manufacturers and consumers owing to its affordability factor. Tata Motors too, recently introduced an AMT variant in its latest compact sedan – Zest. Mahindra & Mahindra and Nissan Motor India too are expected to introduce this technology as part of its portfolio.
AMT is a conventional manual gearbox, which has an electro hydraulic mechanism for automatic gear shifts. The AMT operates on the manual transmission and opens and closes the clutch, and engages and disengages the gears – which are executed by hydraulic actuators.
With affordable AMT, Maruti Suzuki has managed to bring down the price of an automatic car by almost Rs 1-2 lakh, while it matches the fuel efficiency of a manual car.
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