Maruti Ritz is coming to conquer India

(This entry was originally uploaded on May 2009.)

On May 15, 2009, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL) is going to launch Maruti Suzuki Ritz, the premium hatchback car. Maruti Suzuki Ritz will compete in the A2 segment. In the last four years, this is the eighth launch of MSIL and its fourth hatchback model car followed by Maruti Zen Estilo, Maruti Swift, and Maruti A-Star and seventh car in the A2 segment. Designed to attract youngsters, the car is spacious and offers great driving experience. Maruti Ritz is designed on Maruti Swift platform. Maruti Ritz is 3.7 meters long. It is 30 mm shorter than Maruti Swift in length and 8 centimeters wider than the Wagon R+. Designers of the car focused a lot on shoulder space. Five passengers can easily fit into the car.

Maruti Suzuki Ritz will be positioned between the Maruti Suzuki A-Star and Maruti Swift. It will mainly compete with Hyundai’s i10 and i20, Skoda’s Fabia, Ford’s Fusion, Fiat’s Palio and Tata Motors’ Indica Vista. A similar version of the model, which will be named Maruti Suzuki Splash, will be launched in the international market. The Maruti Suzuki Splash will be thirty millimeters shorter than the Maruti Suzuki Ritz.

Currently, in the A2 category, Maruti Swift holds 75% market share, Hyundai Getz11%, Chevrolet U-VA 8%, Hyundai i20 4% and Skoda Fabia 2%. MSIL has a 58% market share in the A2 segment. Shashank Srivastava, chief general manager (marketing), Maruti Suzuki India, said that his company’s main strategy is to offer more products in the same category in order to fetch greater market shares. Mr. Srivastava believes that Maruti Suzuki Ritz would succeed where Maruti Swift failed. He also admitted of “some cannibalization of Swift by Ritz” at the initial stage but customers would gradually understand the differences.

Maruti Suzuki Ritz engines and variants:

• Maruti Ritz is fitted with the all aluminum K12M engine. The 1.2-litre, four cylinder, petrol engine is the latest in lightweight K-series engines that are very much fuel efficient. To achieve fuel efficiency and NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) reduction, plastic parts have been used along with shortened piston skirts, plastic intake manifolds, rocker-less DOHC cam shaft and nut-less conrods. The raisin coatings on the pistons reduce transmission losses.
• There will be six variants of the Maruti Ritz- three in petrol and the other three in diesel. The K12M is an 1197cc petrol engine. It generates 85 bhp at 550 rpm. The common rail diesel engine is a 1248 cc engine that produces 75 bhp.

Environment friendly and fuel efficient:

• To make it a more environment friendly car, Maruti Ritz has been ridded of harmful substances like chromium, cadmium, mercury etc. This makes Maruti Ritz more recyclable to salvage valuable materials.
• The Maruti Suzuki Ritz is the first car from Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. that complies with BS-IV emission norms.
• The Maruti Ritz has Smart DistributionLess Ignition (SDLI) that enables the car to achieve a fuel efficiency of 17-18 kmpl. Maruit Ritz will also be able to run on 10% ethanol-petrol blend. The diesel version will have a fuel efficiency of 21 kmpl.

Other features of Maruti Suzuki Ritz:

• The Maruti Suzuki Ritz will come with a 5-speed manual gearbox. Rumor is that a auto-gear version will be released.
• The Maruti Ritz will be available with RR fog lamps.
• The Maruti Suzuki Ritz will come with a rear bumper designed to suit the roads of India.
• For security, the Maruti Ritz will come with i-CATS (Intelligent Computerized Anti-theft System) on all the variants of the Ritz.
• The Maruti Ritz will be available in splash green, lagoon turquoise and eight other metallic colors. The splash green and lagoon turquoise are specifically developed for this car by Suzuki.
• The Maruti Suzuki Ritz will come along with high grade engine oil which will be needed to change after 10,000 kms compared to 1000 kms in other engines. The new Maruti Suzuki Ritz will also come with high-tech spark plugs which you will have to change after 40,000 kms.

Price:

Maruti Ritz will cost between Rs.450,000- 500,000.

Maruti Ritz microsite:

Maruti Suzuki launched www.marutisuzukiritz.com, an interactive mini-site to commemorate the launch of the Maruti Ritz on May 15^th. The site sports a ticker showing the final count down of the launch. Visitors can also download wallpapers and screen savers. There is a teaser that reveals the car in small portions when the visitor moves his mouse. The micro-site also offers games and puzzles. There is this ‘Sneak a Peek Ritz Contest.’ You can win various prizes including trolley bags, Puma T-shirts, and Ritz desk sets. There is also two personalized sections- ‘Share a Moment’ and ‘Read a Moment.’ In the ‘Read a Moment’ section, visitors can write about their various personal experiences with cars. You will also get to read others’ interesting experiences. The lucky winners will win special Maruti Ritz merchandise.

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Honda Jazz: The first premium hatchback model car in India

Japanese automaker, Honda is going to launch a new hatchback model car, Honda Jazz, in India in June 2009. Already Honda launched Honda Accord V6, a midrange automobile in March 2009. Despite recession, India saw an increase of 22% in car sales in February compared to January. Honda Jazz will compete with other major small cars like Skoda Fabia, Volkswagen Polo Bluemotion and small cars of Toyota. The car will be produced at Honda’s manufacturing plant in Noida. In South Asia Blog, we recently covered about Skoda Superb and India Mobile phone operators. If you read these entries then you will perhaps have good understanding of the recent condition of Indian market.

Masahiro Takedagawa, President and CEO, Honda Siel Cars India said that Honda Jazz is a premium category car. He does not expect that Honda Jazz would out sale Honda City. Honda Jazz is a very stylish and well-designed car. It comes with seats that resemble with Honda Accord.

Dimension:

Width (excluding mirrors):1695 mm

Width (including mirrors) : 2029 mm

Height : 1525 mm

Wheelbase : 2500 mm

Car length : 3900 mm

Kerb weight : 1086 kg

Maximum load weight : 1520 kg

Fuel tank : 42 litres

Features:

• The short nose and rear-end gives Honda Jazz a tight turning circle and it can be parked in tight parking spaces.
• The Honda Jazz is powered by a 1.2-litre intelligent variable valve timing and lift electronic control (i-VTEC) petrol engine.
• The Honda Jazz comfort features include: ashtray, boot light, cigar lighter, driver vanity mirror, front electric windows, interior light standard, intermittent front wiper, map light, pollen filter, power assisted steering, rear cargo hook, and tilt adjustable steering wheel.
• The Honda Jazz comes with body color bumpers.
• The Honda Jazz has electric adjustable and heated door mirrors.
• The Honda Jazz comes with roof mounted aerial.
• The Honda Jazz emits 125 grams of CO2 per km.
• The Honda Jazz has fuel efficiency of 53 miles per gallon.
• The Honda Jazz comes with auxiliary socket.
• The Honda Jazz has front speakers.
• The Honda Jazz comes with a stereo CD tuner with MP3 compatability.
• The Honda Jazz has speed adjusting audio volume.
• The Honda Jazz comes with adjustable dashboard illumination.
• The Honda Jazz has audible headlight on reminder.
• The Honda Jazz comes with digital clock.
• The Honda Jazz has external temperature gauge.
• The Honda Jazz can go from 0-62 miles per hour in 12.5 seconds.
• The Honda Jazz has a maximum speed of 110 km/hour.
• The Honda Jazz has 5 x 3 point seat belts.
• The Honda Jazz comes with active front head restraints.
• The Honda Jazz has Aanti-lock raking System (ABS).
• The Honda Jazz comes with dual front SRS airbags and dual side SRS airbags and side curtain airbag.
• The Honda Jazz has front disc brakes and rear disc brakes.
• The Honda Jazz comes with emergency brake assist.

Price:

India is a price sensitive market. Though the five door Honda Jazz is built on Honda City platform, it is going to be pricier than Honda City. The car is expected to be priced above 4,50,000. Initially, 70% of the auto-parts of the Jazz will be available in India. This will further increase at a later stage.

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(This entry was originally uploaded in March 2009.)