Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL), the country’s largest passenger carmaker, on Wednesday said it expects the upcoming mid-size sedan Ciaz to be the market leader in the segment.

The Ciaz will be launched in the first week of October, Mayank Pareek, Chief Operating Officer - Marketing and Sales, MSIL, told reporters here.

Convincing customers “The market size of the A3+ (mid-size sedan) segment is 16,000-18,000 units a month on an average and we are aiming for leadership in that segment with the Ciaz. In the A3- (compact sedan) segment, the Dzire is already the market leader,” he said. Pareek said the company’s customers looking to upgrade from A3- and premium hatchbacks such as Swift would be key targets for the Ciaz.

To ensure Ciaz’s success, the carmaker has trained around 2,800 staff across the company and its dealerships (around 1,370) to explain and convince customers, he said.

“We have learnt after the Kizashi that importing completely-built models makes no sense.

Competitive pricing “Also, the way you sell a hatchback, like Alto, is very different from how you sell a bigger car. While an Alto buyer can take one week to decide, a premium car customer wants a relationship and may take at least two-three weeks to decide the purchase,” Pareek said.

MSIL said it took 42 months to develop the Ciaz, with most of the design work done in Japan. The car will be available in both petrol and diesel variants, and will be competing with Honda City and Hyundai Verna, which have a price range of around ₹7.20 lakh to ₹11.75 lakh.

Apart from keeping the Ciaz at a ‘competitive price’, MSIL also claims that it is one of the most fuel-efficient cars in the segment. While the diesel version would give around 26.21 km a litre, the petrol variant would give around 20.73 km, the company said.

According to analysts, the success of the vehicle will depend on its price and performance.

“For a product to excel in the market, the key is how the product is perceived by customers on pricing, fuel, efficiency, look and overall cost of ownership. If the product meets these criteria, it will do well,” said Abdul Mazeed, Partner-Automotive Practices at PwC.

Pareek said MSIL expected to sell 25-30 per cent more cars this month, compared with August, when it sold around 98,000 units.

The writer was in Jaipur at the invitation of MSIL.

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