Maruti's newly launched Celerio has begun well, gathering over 14,000 bookings in two weeks time. As R C Bhargava, Maruti Suzuki Chairman, said, that averages to about 1,000 bookings per day. The bookings split between automated manual and manual variants stands at 51 percent (favoring the AMT) currently, which is much more than Maruti's expected 25-30 percent.
As a result, the AMT variants of the Celerio will have a waiting period as Maruti is importing the AMT unit. Bhargava says that the AMT will be imported in the first year and localized next year.
Key reasons for Maruti receiving a better-than-expected response for the AMT variants lie in pricing and positioning of these variants. Compared to the manual Celerio, the AMT costs only INR 38,000 more which makes the technology more accessible, and instead of featuring the AMT system in top-end variants, Maruti chose to have it in their entry-level LXi and VXi variants.
Check out our review of the Maruti Celerio VXI AMT
The Celerio, post the excise duty cut, starts from INR 3.76 lakhs for the base LXi MT variant and INR 4.14 lakhs for the base LXi AMT variant. Both the manual and AMT variant is powered by a 1.0-liter three-cylinder petrol engine which produces 68 PS and 90 Nm of torque.
[Source - Financial Express]
