Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) is believed to be gearing up to supply an undisclosed number of Swift hybrid hatchbacks to the Government of India. The supply is a part of a pilot project. Dubbed Range Extender, the Swift hybrid was displayed at Auto Expo 2014 by the company.

Range Extender hybrid uses a 658 cc, 3-cylinder, petrol engine, along with a 55 kW electric motor that is powered by a 5 kWh lithium ion battery. The battery takes about 90 minutes to charge fully, upon which, it is said to be able to give a range of 25.5 km. The car has a combined fuel economy of 48.2 km/l as per Maruti's internal test results. The battery, electrical motor and other components have been imported from Japan. The Range Extender weighs about 130 kg more than the petrol car.

The Range Extender is undergoing homologation at the moment and is expected to obtain ARAI certification soon. The dates for the supply of the cars are not known due to the upcoming elections. The company expects to have clarity regarding the situation in the first quarter of FY 2014-15.

Source: Autocar Professional

Thanks to BHPian rockporiom for sharing this information.

Remember the updated Swift we’d scooped at this link? Well, Maruti is getting ready to launch the Swift and Dzire ZXi / ZDi with an updated list of features in the coming weeks.

As captured in the link above, the new features list includes:

1. Daytime running LEDs
2. Cruise Control
3. Keyless entry and go (engine start / stop button)
4. One-touch up / down window for the driver

Maruti Suzuki has recalled 1492 vehicles to carry out an inspection of their steering columns. This recall is pertinent to Ertiga (306 nos.), Swift (592 nos.), Dzire (581 nos.) and A-Star (13 nos.) cars manufactured between 19 October, 2013 and 26 October, 2013.

If the steering column is found to be defective, Maruti will replace it free of cost. Maruti Suzuki has stated that its dealers would contact the owners of the affected vehicles.

Additionally, Maruti owners can log on to the manufacturer’s website and ascertain if their vehicles are in the list of recalled vehicles. Owners need to enter their car’s 14 digit alpha-numeric chassis number in the provided field.

Alternatively, owners can visit the nearest Maruti Suzuki dealer workshop to ascertain the same.

The steering column is an important component and it would be a good idea for owners to have their cars inspected, depending on eligibility.

The country's largest car maker and industry bellwether Maruti Suzuki is facing the heat from the sales slowdown, which the Indian car industry has been experiencing for many months now. Maruti Suzuki's marketshare for May 2013, in terms of dispatch sales, fell to 40% from a consistent 44-45%, the surest indication that all's not well at the nation's top car maker.  According to IBNLive, inventory build up has led to Maruti Suzuki deciding to shut production of diesel cars for one day at its Gurgaon and Manesar factories. This shutdown will focus on cutting production of diesel engined cars, in what is a first for Maruti Suzuki, a car maker that has enjoyed robust demand for its diesel cars all along.

Combined, both factories build 5,000 cars a day with many top selling diesel cars such as the Swift hatchback, Dzire compact sedan and the Ertiga MPV being produced at these factories. So, tomorrow's production cut at these factories will give Maruti Suzuki some breathing space in terms of inventory build up. Over the past few months, Maruti has also been cutting back on petrol car production as petrol car sales bottomed out a while ago when car buyers shifted towards the cheaper, diesel fuel. Now though, diesel car sales have also been slowing down as the Indian government implements the diesel deregulation through periodic hikes in diesel prices. 

To boost diesel car sales, Maruti has been offering discounts and quick delivery of many diesel car models. Apart from the one day production cut at Gurgaon and Manesar tomorrow, Maruti Suzuki will also embark upon its annual maintenance shutdown, which is on schedule, from June 17th to 22nd. This shutdown will further allow Maruti Suzuki to align inventory levels to market demand. Notably, Maruti Suzuki, in the past, had announced that it would regularly resort to factory shutdowns for one or two days every month to ensure that it doesn't over produce cars, especially at a time when supply outstrips demand. 

Maruti Suzuki isn't the only car maker caught in the throes of the sales slowdown in India. Tata Motors, Mahindra, Toyota and many other car makers in India are going through a lean patch, reflecting the overall buyer sentiment in the country. The Reserve Bank of India, which controls the rates at which banks borrow and lend, hasn't cut interest rates significantly, citing inflationary pressures. This has meant that car financing isn't getting any cheaper, forming another jolt to the car industry. Also, the excise duty hike on cars classified as "SUVs" is a blow that the Indian car industry has had to contend with.

Maruti is offering immediate delivery of its Swift Diesel for all those who book their cars by the 17th of this month. The company is currently running ‘The Great Diesel Week’ campaign. 

The dealer Team-BHP spoke to mentioned that the offer was applicable for select variants only, and in limited numbers. The LDi and VDi variants are being delivered immediately. The wait for the top-end ZDi variant stretches to a month. 

It is important to note that the Swift LXi / LDi and VXi / VDi variants suffer from braking issues. Related Threads:

Official Review (Maruti Swift : Test Drive & Review)

Technical Discussion (Attention: New Maruti Suzuki Swift Brake Issue)

The offer is a sign of decline in market sentiment and clearly indicates optimistic inventory levels at Maruti dealers. Maruti sold 19,534 Swifts last month, down by 6% compared to last year. 

Maruti is also offering a discount on the Ritz Diesel to the tune of Rs 25,000, with an extra Rs 20,000 thrown in as an exchange bonus. The Ritz' facelift hasn't made much of a difference to its sales figures (4,143 deliveries last month). That's a year-on-year decline of nearly 30%.

Almost a week after Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plant shut down due to the worker riots, the would-be effects of the lockout will damage the short-term position of the company. 

The plant was the primary producer of the best-selling Swift and Dzire. The company today announced that stock of both these models has run out. Current booking order stands at 55,000 units for Swift and 65,000 units for Dzire.

Meanwhile, company officials said that even if the production were to begin today, it would take up to 4 - 6 months to clear the backlog. There is no respite in sight for waiting customers as Maruti Chairman RC Bhargava has repeatedly denied the possibility of importing vehicles or shifting lost production to another plant.

No Diwali Dhamaka

India’s largest car manufacturer is also set to delay the launch of its new 800cc car due to the Manesar plant lockout. The car, which was to be the cheapest in the company’s portfolio, was initially set for a Diwali launch.

Diwali, along with Navratri is considered auspicious for purchases and the festive season sees car sales grow by about 25%. The lack of supply from the Manesar plant, which produces 5.5 lakh units annually, will be a big dent on Maruti’s sales.

Competition

Maruti’s poison could be meat for its competitors, especially those car manufacturers whose products are competing with the Swift and Dzire. There are already reports of models like Ford Figo, Toyota Liva / Etios and Volkswagen Polo being offered with discounts, free accessories and extended warranties.

Equipment manufacturers for Maruti are also feeling the heat of the lockout. There are about 200 ancillary units in Haryana who provide a host of products for the Manesar plant. Some of these dealers have already begun incurring losses and are being forced to lay off labourers. 

The Gurgaon plant meanwhile continues to perform to capacity with production of models like Alto, Wagon R, Ertiga and Ritz. 

Related thread

Violent clashes at Maruti Manesar plant; production shut down

Maruti Suzuki could risk irking and even losing potential customers as top-end variants of its popular models like the Swift, Dzire and Ertiga continues to have waiting periods of about six months or more.

The acute short supply of alloy wheels, which is one of the USPs in top-end variants like ZDi and VDi, has contributed to the delay. In addition, market demand for these top-end variants have shot up in the first quarter of this fiscal year.

The alloy wheel components were being imported from a single vendor in Thailand. However they have not been able to meet this sudden surge in demand and there is no immediate scope for expansion.

The price difference between the middle and top variants in these models is Rs 80,000 and below. This relatively minor difference is an incentive for buyers to opt for the higher-end model over the mid-level variant, hence the surge in its demand. Alloy wheels have also become increasingly popular as they are lighter, stronger and better looking.

Meanwhile, Maruti dealers reckon that the company is planning to roll out the top-end VDi and ZDi variants of Ertiga with all its unique features minus the alloy wheels. These would cost about Rs 25,000 less and is expected to hit the markets very soon.

Following is the list of waiting period for top-end variants of Maruti car models (Ex-showrooms, Mumbai).

Swift ZDi: 4.5 months
Dzire ZDi: 6 months
Ertiga VDi: 3-4 months
Ertiga ZDi: 6 months