Maruti, which was surprised by the extremely positive response to the redesigned Swift, has finally responded with a planned increase in production.
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The Swift, launched earlier this year with attractive introductory pricing of INR387,000 for the base model, attracted record advance orders with waiting lists stretching to six months at one time for some variants.
The attractive pricing undercut the competition – Opel Corsa Sail, Fiat Palio and Hyundai Getz – by at least 10%.
Maruti now plans to ramp up production from around 6,000 units per month to 9,000. This will be done in the final quarter of this fiscal year.
Maruti is not making any fresh investment, though – the additional 3,000 cars will be squeezed out of existing plant.
The production hike is likely to shorten waiting lists for the car – the current 1-4 month waiting list actually helps competitors like the Hyundai Getz.
Swift demand has been so strong, Marui has not even started television advertising yet. Next year, it will launch a diesel version.
Deepesh Rathore
