Maruti Suzuki has slashed prices for the Swift Dzire's new avatar and also offered an automatic in the middle petrol variant.

The new model will be up to Rs 30,000 cheaper than before. The starting price is at Rs 4.79 lakh (petrol, Lxi) and the top-end diesel variant will now cost Rs 7.09 lakh (in Delhi). Among sedans, it competes with Toyota's Etios, Hyundai's Accent and Tata's Indigo range.

The length of the new Dzire has been reduced in order to meet the lower excise tax bracket (10 per cent), but it is lighter, wider and taller than before. “We have brought in 150 changes in this car as compared with the previous one,” Mr Shinzo Nakanishi, Managing Director and CEO, Maruti Suzuki India, said. In sedans, this will also be perhaps the cheapest automatic variant on offer. Mr Nakanshi said, “Growth in the Indian car market will be possible when the middle-class gets a balanced package at an affordable price. This is the reason why we have an automatic version of this car.”

Maruti and its vendors have invested over Rs 230 crore in the development of the Dzire, apart from Rs 550 crore on the base Swift platform.

The Dzire is the category leader with over 39 per cent market share in the entry sedan A3 segment, which grew 32 per cent last year. Though monthly sales are at around 10,000 units, the outgoing model has a backlog of at least 30,000 units, 90 per cent of which is for the diesel version.

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