Maruti Suzuki has developed a unique local sedan variant of the hot-selling Swift hatchback called the Dzire.
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The new car will be offered with 1.3-litre diesel and petrol engines and sells for INR449,000 to INR670,000 (US$11,200-$US16,700) depending on specification.
This is the seventh new model launched by Maruti Suzuki in the last three years.
The Dzire replaces the Esteem – a locally-made, updated version of a previous-generation Suzuki Swift sedan the Japanese automaker first launched globally in the late 1980s. just-auto understands that India was the last market in which this ageing model was built.
Local auto analysts told Indian media Maruti is likely to use the new sedan to consolidate its position in the strongly-contested A-3 segment.
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By GlobalDataMaruti Suzuki managing director S Nakanishi was quoted as saying: “It has a special place in our product strategy. With growing incomes and better lifestyle, many of them want to upgrade to a sedan.”
“But today, they are not able to find an entry level sedan that offers style, features and performance. The DZire offers all this, and at an attractive price,” he added.
Standard equipment includes integrated audio system with steering wheel controls, automatic climate control, power windows and dual airbags.
The Dzire project was begun in 2005, local reports said. Eleven Suzuki engineers worked on the car which has 60mm more back seat width compared to the Swift hatchback and weighs 30kg more.
Indian media reports said the car was developed for INR300,000,000 ($7.4m) as it shares its basic platform with the existing Swift hatchback. The diesel engine – a Fiat Multijet unit built in a local joint venture – is shared with the hatch while the petrol engine is essentially the same as the Esteem’s with minor modifications.
The Dzire is expected to increase competition in the lower A3 segment currently dominated by Mahindra Renault’s Logan and Tata Motors’ Indigo.
Maruti Suzuki is India’s biggest car maker, and sold 674, 924 vehicles in the 2006-7 fiscal year, including 39,295 exports. Post-tax profit was INR15.62bn ($358.34m).
