[blue_pulsar]

1. The Swift ticks more boxes than the Ritz, may be apart from ride quality for the Indian public. Like "Image", "Status"(at that level),

2. The Ritz was supposed to pull customers from i10 to Maruti. Obviously that did not happen because people who buy an i10 prefer its build quality against a Maruti in similarly priced cars.

3. Hyundai has been keeping the game up by continuously improving the i10.

4. And then Ford Figo happened which is a runaway success by Ford standards (Considering Ritz sells only a thousand and a half less than the Figo every month).

5. So Ritz does not have a USP of its own and no area where it does exceedingly better than the competition. Most people who buy this car want to be within the Maruti stable and want an alternative to the WagonR and the Swift (although there may be exceptions who genuinely like its shape).

[aroop]

Worldwide, the Ritz (or the splash) is a successor of the good old WagonR. When it was launched in May 09, the Ritz was expected to replace the old horse. But Maruti didnt do that, they invested in the WagonR and gave it a new body and heart. This pushed its sales charts higher and took the numbers away from the ritz.

If they had gone the Hyundai way (santro - i10), the Ritz would have lived up to its glitz.

But Maruti cares two hoots about the sales numbers of Ritz; its tall boys combined give a much higher numbers (21k) than the i10 every month.

A star shares the same fate; It is cannibalized by the national car alto.

In India, an improved version (read: bigger, roomier, pricier) does not always mean VFM. People switched from 800 to alto only when maruti declared they would phase out the 800.

[aniketi]

I don't think Ritz is a not so successful car. It is constantly doing numbers of 6k per month. It may find smaller than sales of Alto, Wagon R & Swift, but still making good numbers. It was launched to compete with i10, but mainly to add one more small car to there strong portfolio. Launches like Figo, Micra are pulling its sales down. Also it happens that people like Swift more than Ritz in show rooms due to its sporty looks. I also like the looks of the Ritz but not as good as Swift

[SANSI]

I feel yes. I would say with confidant that it deserves more than what it earns now as I am the owner of it for past twelve months and have driven almost 19K kms in it.

SANSI

[ajman28]

I think the only reason ritz has been selling these numbers is because it does not have the same waiting period as that of the swift. Like many in the public, I still have not gotten over the strange looking "dicky"!!

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by aroop

Worldwide, the Ritz (or the splash) is a successor of the good old WagonR. When it was launched in May 09, the Ritz was expected to replace the old horse. But Maruti didnt do that, they invested in the WagonR and gave it a new body and heart. This pushed its sales charts higher and took the numbers away from the ritz.

If they had gone the Hyundai way (santro - i10), the Ritz would have lived up to its glitz.

But Maruti cares two hoots about the sales numbers of Ritz; its tall boys combined give a much higher numbers (21k) than the i10 every month.

This is not quite true. If you add up the Feb sales of the Santro (8,070) and i10 (15,105), it works out to 23,175, which is much higher than WagonR (14131) and Ritz (5882) at 20,013. However the equation changes in favour of Maruti if you include Estilo (4469).

Originally Posted by SANSI

I feel yes. I would say with confidant that it deserves more than what it earns now as I am the owner of it for past twelve months and have driven almost 19K kms in it.

So, you would mean to suggest that the Ritz has not really live up to its glitz (expectations)? Then you would have voted 'No'.

Originally Posted by ajman28

I think the only reason ritz has been selling these numbers is because it does not have the same waiting period as that of the swift. Like many in the public, I still have not gotten over the strange looking "dicky"!!

Do you mean to say that if customers did not have had to wait for the Swift, the Ritz numbers would have been even lower? Interesting, because that is exactly what happened in the case of my brother-in-law in 2009. He was determined to go in for the Swift and did not even want to visit the showroom to check out any other Maruti car. He agreed to have a look at the Ritz only because I was going to the showroom to pay my insurance for the Alto and he accompanied me. He opted for the Ritz mainly because of the long waiting period of the swift.

Like yourself, 95% of the people I have met have said they would not consider the Ritz mainly because of its rear end. "It looks as if someone chopped its back", "It looks as a truck rammed into its rear". Somehow, I am inclined to believe that sales may have gone much higher if the Ritz had a different (protruding outside) backside. That many have "eventually" grown to like its rear design itself suggests that they too were uncomfortable about the shape in the first place.

[nurni76]

Originally Posted by misquitas

This is not quite true. If you add up the Feb sales of the Santro (8,070) and i10 (15,105), it works out to 23,175, which is much higher than WagonR (14131) and Ritz (5882) at 20,013. However the equation changes in favour of Maruti if you include Estilo (4469).


.

I think it will be fair to compare the numbers of i10 1.1 Vs Wagon R. As of now I believe the i10 1.1 would be around 40% of the total i10 Sales, which means around 6k/month. Avg Santro sales is around 7k which is a combined total of 13K. Corresponding sales of Wagon R, Estillo and A Star is around 22k (14K+4.5k+3.5K)

i10 1.2 should be compared with Swift and Ritz petrol. It is here that i10 is really doing well. Avg i10 1.2 is 9k, whereas Swift +Ritz Petrol is around 7.5K (Assumed 45% of total Swift and Ritz numbers is Petrol i.e. ~5K Swift and 2.5K ritz)

So in my estimate Ritz has not done as per expectation.

[CANPUSH]

I have voted No. as -

I found Ritz to be good design badly detailed.

Car is not as well behaved on road as Swift or i10 hence not considered very safe and that is Paramount factor.

[DieselLover]

Voted No. I have seen numer of people going for Swift as they are not happy with the way Ritz looks. It seems the "love it or hate it" design is not really helpful though the car comes with excellent engines - both petrol & diesel.

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Why I would prefer Swift over Ritz?

• Drives and Handles much better
• Looks Much better

Why Ritz over Swift?

• Spacious
• Easy to get in and out
• Ride is better than the swift.

I guess Indians prefer the 1st two more.

Valid points. Another important point for Ritz over the Swift is a shorter waiting period for the former.

The Ritz is a good city car. Its easy to drive around in the city, spacious and easy to get in and out of. The Swift is a nicer highway car with better stability.
A/B comparison would rate the Swift better on the looks department. Also due to popularity charts and premium feel, the Swift has a slightly better resale than the Ritz.

While we compare the Ritz to the Swift here, a sales figure of 6000+ cars is not considered weak by a long shot.

I was in a Maruti showroom recently and looking for the Swift when a sales person tried selling me the Ritz saying I'll get a waterfall dashboard with the Ritz.

[supremeBaleno]

Depends on what Glitz means. Since we are not privy to the sales that MSIL would have expected of the Ritz, we would not know whether the expecations were met or not. But since MSIL's strategy is to have a range of cars closely packed within the 2lakh to 5.5lakh range, so that the customer chooses one of them over the competition, even at the cost of one cannibalising sales of the other, sales of individual models do not matter much for them IMO.

Customers do give importance to the car's looks and the Swift has the Ritz beat here, which should explain people's preference reflecting in the sales. Since engine options are same for both cars, I don't see any other reason. I have driven the Ritz-P and it is a gem to drive compared to the 1.3P Swift we have. But if I had to choose between a Swift and Ritz today, I would go for the Swift1.2 since looks matter to me. Reason why I would not go for the i10 either which is a bland looker.

[Schoudhury]

I feel Ritz have lived upto its expectation .
Here is what GTO said in his review of Ritz
"In a nutshell, the young unmarried dude will probably still buy a Swift. But for someone with kids / family, the Ritz makes immensely more sense."

And i feel this is reason why you see number of Ritz selling is less than swift.
So, if you see a person who will have family and kids will have different priorities, like safety, space decent looks etc and also will mostly consider a sedan or may be a premium hatchback and Ritz is definitely not a premium hatchback by any means , most importantly a person who will have family and kids will most be his 30's , that means well settled in life and can afford high end car like i20,i10 (top end ,auto) jazz etc etc .

But a person who is just in his 20's will want a sporty ride, which can be modified as per their taste etc and will not be needed to pay a lot to own one will definitely go for swift even if there is long waiting period.

And im sure Maruti knew this before hand when they launched Ritz and thus i feel Ritz is doing what it was supposed to do .
Also im sure in future you will see the sales number also going high for Ritz .

Cheers.

[noopster]

What glitz? The car looks like a cow in the middle of a particularly painful delivery if you ask me. The fact that it is a good seller is a tribute to the manufacturer for getting everything else right, and that has precious little to do with glitz. It's a sensible car for sensible people- the kind who would never consider the Swift or i20 because it's too...well, glitzy!

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Depends on what Glitz means. Since we are not privy to the sales that MSIL would have expected of the Ritz, we would not know whether the expecations were met or not. But since MSIL's strategy is to have a range of cars closely packed within the 2lakh to 5.5lakh range, so that the customer chooses one of them over the competition, even at the cost of one cannibalising sales of the other, sales of individual models do not matter much for them IMO.

It may be true that Maruti could well be happy if its models compete with each other as long as customers remain with Maruti. However, I still believe that the Ritz was intended/designed (premium tall-bodied hatch) to compete more with the hot-selling I10, rather than with its own Maruti cars. If people (families) love the Wagon-R (14,000-odd sales) for its tall-bodied roomy design, why is it there less enthusiasm among Maruti fans to upgrade to another tall-bodied roomy sibling (Ritz) within the Maruti family?

Somehow, I don't think that the Ritz was meant to compete with the Swift, as these two cars seem to appeal to two different kinds of customers.

See, some Maruti sales people admitted to me that many people who step into the Maruti showroom are mainly focused on buying the Swift. When told that there is a long waiting period for the Swift, many of these customers look elsewhere (check out cars of other manufacturers), while some are encouraged (by sales advisors or friends) to look to other options in Maruti with a similar engine -- the Ritz. Not many customers have the Ritz firmly in mind (first option) when they step into the showroom. In this sense, Ritz is largely considered a 'second' option ("buy-Ritz-if-you-cant-get-Swift" attitude) and has ended up competing with the Swift.

The success of the Ritz would have been greater had it brought down sales of the I10 on its own strength, rather than by way of "cannibalising sales of the other" Maruti cars (on the strength of the Swift).

Contrast this situation with the I10. Many customers step into the Hyundai showroom with the I10 firmly in mind. They don't look at other options within Hyundai, simply because they don't need to -- there is little or no waiting period for the I10 -- or there are no options to choose from within Hyundai, as the I20 and Santro fall within different segments and budgets.
Hence, most I10 customers come with a fixed car in mind and seal the deal then and there.

Customers do give importance to the car's looks and the Swift has the Ritz beat here, which should explain people's preference reflecting in the sales. Since engine options are same for both cars, I don't see any other reason. I have driven the Ritz-P and it is a gem to drive compared to the 1.3P Swift we have. But if I had to choose between a Swift and Ritz today, I would go for the Swift1.2 since looks matter to me.

Many people have a similar attitude when the Swift is compared with the Ritz. While the Ritz generates a "like-to-have" feeling, the Swift eventually commands a "must-have" feeling. This, in my opinion, sums up the approach towards Ritz.

PS: The poll is still evenly poised till now, with the "No" voters leading with a slight edge. Seems like a nail-biting cricket match, with unpredictable results.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by misquitas

If people (families) love the Wagon-R (14,000-odd sales) for its tall-bodied roomy design, why is it there less enthusiasm among Maruti fans to upgrade to another tall-bodied roomy sibling (Ritz) within the Maruti family?

Obviously because the Ritz costs more, atleast for the majority. It is not enough that you like a car, you need to be able to afford it too. Why do 15K people buy the i10 monthly, while only 6-7K buy the i20 ? Not because they dont like the i20, but because it is costlier.

Originally Posted by misquitas

Many customers step into the Hyundai showroom with the I10 firmly in mind. They don't look at other options within Hyundai, simply because they don't need to

Not because they dont need to, but because there are no options. Its either the ageing Santro or the i10 - that's it. Contrast this with the Estilo, A-Star, WagonR, Ritz, Swift in the Suzuki range all within a few thousands of each other.

When there are many options available, people change the car they had in mind when they entered the showroom. I can quote my example itself - I was planning to buy an Alto in 2005. Wifey felt it would be same as the M800 we had, so we moved to WagonR, finalised on the VXi. Then happened to TD a Baleno and loved it so muich that I ended up buying it. So from a 3-lakh hatchback that I had initially my mind set on, I moved to a 4L+ tallboy to finally a 6L sedan. Not only did I move across segments, but budget doubled.