Indian Autos blog

Reports of the Suzuki A-Star’s local foray is flowing thick and fast on media channels in Indonesia. The A-Segment hatchback, manufactured in Manesar, is expected to give company to the Estilo Karimun next year. It will be fitted with the same 1L, 3cyl K Series petrol mill. Two variants, ZXi and VXi, supposedly compose the Indonesian range of what the rest of the world knows as “Alto.”

India is the sole manufacturing location for the Suzuki A-Star. It is exported to countries in Asia, Europe and UK.

Sources have told Indian Autos Blog that the plan of using a rebadged A-Star for Volkswagen India’ entry-level car has been canceled. The option of using a badge-engineered A-Star was hotly debated internally last year. This option was formed after Volkswagen brought nearly a 20% stake in Suzuki late in 2009.

Volkswagen could however proceed with the plan of sourcing the rebadged A-Star for sale in some overseas markets.

As this plan is nixed, VW can explore two options -

click through to understand the options

After carrying the badge of Suzuki and Nissan, the A-Star will also get a VW badge. India’s automotive kingpin, Maruti Suzuki will supply A-Star to Volkswagen AG to sell in other markets, Economic Times is reporting. The A-Star, or 7th generation Alto, is a car that is sold across the globe under various names such as Pixo, Celerio etc. It is this popularity that attracted the attention of the German  [ Read More ]

The Maruti Suzuki A-Star had a very good start in the Indian market. The car’s styling evoked a good response from the public and it has been selling well since then. But with a slew of new entrants splashing into the small car segment, segment favorites like the A-Star, Swift and Hyundai i10 all lost their charm and sales aren’t very brisk.

Hyundai has already set to work and is busy preparing the facelifted Hyundai i10. Maruti has to add some pizazz to its range. The next generation 2011 Maruti Suzuki Swift would be coming only next year and only other cars that deserves attention are the Zen Estilo and the A-Star.

The Zen Estilo is receiving few cosmetic changes now and then but it isn’t enough, is it? The only option Maruti Suzuki India has is to add spice to the A-Star so that it can attract buyers who are turned off by the Estilo.

Rumours suggest that Maruti could offer an automatic transmission on the A-Star to attract new customers, especially the fairer sex. The A-Star which sells as the Alto globally has a very efficient 4-speed auto transmission that manages 15 kmpl in the city and 24 kmpl on the highway.

The efficiency of the Maruti Suzuki A-Star Automatic could attract buyers who want hassle free driving in the city and could be a cheaper alternative to the Hyundai i10 Automatic.

The Indian market is growing rapidly and with this growth, there is bright chance for small cars with auto boxes to do well. The Nissan Micra could be offered with an automatic transmission by next year and the next generation Maruti Swift could come with an automatic transmission option.

The new Suzuki Alto (Indian A-Star) is ready to go on sale in the UK from the 1st of March and from where else will the car be sourced? Maruti Suzuki will export the first few Euro-spec units from right here in India (remember that the A-Star is not made anywhere else in the world). The base version will carry an on-road price tag of £6,795.

Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India Limited unveiled the much-awaited, World Strategic Model, A-star here today.

Powered by the new, state-of-the-art, light weight, 998cc K10B petrol engine, A-star is the best in class fuel-efficient car with a mileage of 19.59 kilometers per litre, as tested by ARAI, Pune, country’s premier automotive research agency.

Built on a brand new platform, the A-star is an excellent city car with best in class turning radius, power, flat torque (minimum gearshifts) and performance.

A-star is truly a green car with no compromise. The newest model meets the European ELV norms, which implies that 85 per cent of the car is recyclable. In addition, it is free from hazardous materials like Lead, Cadmium, Mercury and Chromium.

The A-star was launched in the city by Mr. RC Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India Limited and other senior company officials.

The A-star has been designed keeping in mind aspirations of the urban economy-conscious customers, who seek best-in-class fuel efficiency,lower emission, and high quality and high performance alongwith style. It also takes the engine technology in India to the next level. A-star is the most relevant car that addresses the needs of today’s customers be it India or any other part of the world.

A few months ago, we brought you spy pictures of the upcoming Suzuki Kizashi testing in the U.S, which you can view here. It looks like the Suzuki Kizashi could well be the next vehicle from Maruti after the upcoming A-Star and the Splash in India. Maruti is taking bold decisions after the immense success of its latest models-The Swift and the SX4. We expect the A-Star and the Splash  [ Read More ]