With Kizashi, Maruti takes a crack at premium

Maruti Suzuki India plans to enter the premium sedan segment with 2.4 litre petrol ‘Kizashi’ within a month.

In Japanese, Kizashi means a sign of great things to come, and the car may well turn out to be a game-changer for the country’s largest small car maker.

The most expensive car Maruti’s portfolio today is the SX4, which starts at about Rs7 lakh.

The Kizashi could be priced between Rs18-20 lakh since the company initially plans to adopt the CBU or completely built unit route and import duties almost double the cost of the vehicle when it is brought in as a completely built unit. It is expected to compete with brands such as Honda Civic, Skoda Laura and Toyota Corolla Altis.

Suzuki Motor Corp first launched the Kizashi in the US in July last year. The Indian version would have an overall width of 1.820 metres, overall length of 4.6 metres and 18-inch aluminium wheels.

Maruti has no plans as of now to offer a diesel version of this car, at least initially.

Mayank Pareek, executive officer (marketing & sales), Maruti, said the company is not expecting large volumes but feels an entry into the ‘D’segment is essential to understand the consumer there.

“We claim to be a company which understands the small-car consumer very well. Now, we want to understand the premium car buyer.”

The executive sedan segment, as defined by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, comprises cars of 4.5-4.7 metres length. Sales in the segment declined marginally to 3,405 units in November from 3,717 units in the same month of 2009.
Of the 12 car brands which fall under this classification, at least five saw declining sales in the penultimate month of the year even when the overall market was growing at a phenomenal rate.

Chevy Optra and Cruze together comprise the largest selling cars in this category at 879 units (631 units), while the Audi Q5 is the lowest selling car here with just 59 units (23 units) sold this November.