Indian Autos blog

News comes in from NDTVProfit that the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga has managed to clock a whopping 32,000 bookings within just one month of its launch.

In fact, it has clocked so many orders that it has run into a typical Maruti problem of ‘increased waiting period’. While the company has clocked 32,000 orders, its factory can only roll out 6,000 units in a particular month.

MSIL’s Alto is a sales success right from the day of its introduction in September 27, 2000. Its sales rose to an all time high after 2006 and remained in the top spot until the Swift snatched the crown away last month.

But the cloud has been turning dark over the Alto with sales gradually dropping and it reached an all-time low in April 2012 with drastic decrease in sales by around 11% and is MoM% was at -49.4% (March-12 to April-12).

According to reports across Indian media channels, Maruti Suzuki is planning to bring out a sporty version of the Swift by 2013.

The car may even go by the name Swift Sport. Suzuki sells a sporty version using the same name in Europe and many other parts of the world. As India is concerned about fuel economy and has largely ignored petrol engines, the Swift Sport is incompatible to the changing market conditions.

We know that the Ertiga is a success story for Maruti Suzuki with 400 bookings on Day 1 in Maharashtra that turned into a magical figure of 10k bookings within a few days pan India.

IAB has already informed readers that the India-made Ertiga will be exported to Indonesia in May.

Suzuki expects to sell 50,000 units of vehicles within a year of which the Ertiga will contribute about 30%.

The Alto’s dominance finally comes to an end, well sort of. The Maruti Suzuki Alto was the bestselling car in India since the mid-2000′s – crown that the Alto snatched from the 800. This epic dominance lasted for more than 6 years.

But all good things come to an end. The Alto has been dethroned from its podium by sister Swift for the month of April.

Let’s just say Maruti Suzuki isn’t complaining.

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As we all know by now, the Suzuki A-Star (branded Alto outside India) is getting a facelift in China. The Alto is manufactured in China by the Chang’an-Suzuki joint venture. The Suzuki Alto facelift is expected to be released by the end of this year in China. With fierce competition in the B1 car segment this might help Suzuki boost their sales.

As you can see from the spy-shots the A-Star facelift will get a new front with smaller head-lights, a new grill, and a new bumper. At the back the changes seem to be minimal with just a new tail light assembly.

On the official website of Suzuki Japan, the boffins at the HQ have called for the release of the photographs revealing the Splash/Ritz facelift. The website mentions (in Japanese) that the refreshed model is coming out in June.

The website does not divulge details on the car’s mechanical package but shows a mildly revised interior and exterior.

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Suzuki has introduced the Ertiga MPV in Indonesia in three variants stretched out between 8.4-9.8 lakh rupees. Suzuki had started discussing and marketing the car’s launch ever since the unveiling of the car at the Delhi Auto Expo in January 2012.

The Ertiga is only available with a 1.4-liter petrol engine. Suzuki is targeting 50,000 units sales volume annually in the Indonesian market dominated by the likes of the Toyota Avanza, Daihatsu Xenia and Nissan’s Grand Livina.