With a price tag of ₹4.29 lakh for the base variant (LXi) of its latest hatchback, the Celerio automatic, and ₹4.59 lakh for the top-end (VXi) version, Maruti Suzuki has stirred up the market for automatics.
In comparison, the Hyundai Grand i10 1.2 four-speed automatic starts at ₹5.73 lakh and goes up to ₹6.04 lakh.
Maruti announced the pricing to a packed audience made up of journalists and dealers, on Thursday, at the Auto Expo in Greater Noida.
The Celerio has a 1-litre petrol engine. The base variant of the manual transmission version (LXi) has been priced at ₹3.90 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) while the VXi has a price tag of ₹4.20 lakh and the ZXi, ₹4.50 lakh. The ZXi (optional) is being offered for ₹4.96 lakh.
The company claims a mileage of 23.1 kmpl for both the manual and automatic transmission versions. The auto-gear shift, christened EZ Drive, has only two pedals, which relieves the driver from having to synchronise between the clutch and gear-shift lever and makes it easy to drive in start-stop traffic conditions.
According to automobile experts, automatics were not popular because of their lower mileage in comparison with manual transmission cars. However, with Maruti claiming uniform mileage for the manual and automatic transmission variants of the Celerio, that perception may change.
The company opened bookings for the Celerio last month and the response, according to Mayank Pareek, Managing Executive Officer – Marketing & Sales, has been very good. He did not disclose how many cars had been booked but said nearly 40 per cent of the Celerio cars that had been booked were automatics. Deliveries will start immediately.
With the launch of the Celerio, Maruti Suzuki will phase out the A-star and Zen Estilo hatchbacks.
Maruti was among the first car manufacturers in the country to bring in automatic transmission, in its Zen model, but withdrew it from the market due to a tepid response. Now, with increasing bumper-to-bumper traffic on city roads, automatic transmission is slowly catching up.
The company’s aggressive introductory pricing of the Celerio, especially for the automatic variant, will be keenly watched by Nissan, which is bringing back the Datsun and has unveiled Go, the first car under this brand.
Tata Motors, which unveiled the Bolt hatchback and compact Zest two days before the expo opened, will also be tracking the response to the Celerio.
Tata Motors has introduced F-Tronic automated manual transmission in the new cars for clutch-free driving.