After an Awful experience in the premium segment with cars like Grand Vitara, Baleno sedan and even S-Cross, Maruti managed to overturn the gremlin with Ciaz sedan launched in October 2014. The mid size sedan has now clocks the 1 lakh sale milestone in just 20 months of its launch and currently leading the segment dethroning Honda City. In the month of May Ciaz had 5188 takers while Honda City clocked 3300 units.
Ever since its launch, Ciaz has been performing consistently well due to decent styling, segment best cabin space, rich features and class leading fuel efficiency. Last year, Maruti launched diesel hybrid version of the sedan which provided the competitive edge in the segment and also enhances the Kitna Deti hai quotient.
R S Kalsi, executive director (marketing and sales) at Maruti Suzuki, said “Ciaz started out as an outstanding product in terms of looks, features and the cabin space. With introduction of Ciaz smart hybrid technology and new infotainment features, it has clearly pulled ahead as the best product in its class,”
Apart from Ciaz, the Baleno hatchback also helped Maruti to break the Jinx with overwhelming response as the hatchback already crossed over 70,000 sales 8 months after its launch. In the next month of its launch Baleno managed to enter the list of top 10 cars of the month and in December it outsold the segment leader Hyundai Elite i20.
Maruti Baleno is powered by tried and tested range of engines i.e. a 1.2-litre K-Series petrol engine that develops 83bhp power and 115Nm of torque. While a 1.3-litre DDis diesel engine belts out 74bhp of max power and 190Nm of torque. Transmission options include 5- speed manual and a 5-speed CVT gearbox.
Maruti Suzuki will soon launch Baleno RS and Ignis hatchback during the upcoming festive via company’s premium dealerships NEXA. The company is also pulling up its socks to expand dealerships to 250 by the end of next fiscal year.
