Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Monday said it would decide whether to import the new ‘luxury’ Kizashi sedan to India within the next two years.
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MSI parent Suzuki Motor (SMC) originally planned a 3.5-litre V6 sedan based on the Kizashi motor show concepts for markets like the US but later scaled down development of large cars following a global preference for smaller vehicles after the economic melt-down. It recently launched the car in the US with a 2.4-litre I4 engine and is now developing a two-litre version for the Kizashi, the biggest car in SMC’s passenger vehicle range.
Asked if MSI would bring the Kizashi to India, MSI managing director and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi said: “If we decide to bring it to the country, it will be depend on the market situation. But any decision will be taken within the next two years.”
Asked if Maruti would phase out its once bread-and-butter Maruti 800 model from 11 cities once the Bharat Stage IV emission rules apply next year, Nakanishi said: “We would like to sell it as long as possible, but we are also not thinking of modifying the model.” [The car is based on the Suzuki Alto generation replaced in developed markets in the mid-1980s – ed].
He said the company would phase out the 800 from those 11 cities by 1 April, 2010, but would continue to sell in other parts of India.
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