Maruti's next new product launch for this year will be the Ciaz sedan, which was previewed in concept form at the Auto Expo 2014 earlier this month.
According to a report on Overdrive, Maruti will launch the Ciaz with the option of an automated manual transmission (AMT). Buoyed by the response it has received for the Celerio AMT variants (over 51 percent of the 14,000 bookings are for the AMT models), Maruti may as well trial the affordable technology in the mid-size segment.
We would speculate the AMT for the Ciaz to be a 5-speed unit offering the same, if not better, fuel economy as the manual variant. Currently, Maruti imports the AMT gearbox, though localization (for the Celerio's AMT) will take place next year.
The larger question is whether Maruti would extend this AMT technology to the diesel powered Ciaz. Currently, Hyundai offers an automatic transmission on the diesel Verna, which also happens to be the country's most affordable diesel automatic car (until Tata launches the Bolt and Zest which feature an AMT for their diesel models). Given that the AMT system undercuts the regular automatic transmission in terms of price, Maruti could give the Verna diesel AT tough competition if they plan this rival.
[Source - Overdrive]
