Just today morning we reported about Maruti Suzuki’s plans to develop another sedan, which would be positioned between the DZire and SX4 and now words of the A-Star sedan being launched in 2013 creeps in. According to a report by Financial Chronicle, Maruti Suzuki plans to add a boot to the A-Star, to make a sedan version of this not so popular hatchback. The company plans to sell the A-Star hatchback in both India and overseas market. Maruti Suzuki is planning to export a large chunk of the A-Star sedan to eastern Europe. This is in-line with the company’s strategy to create new sub-categories within segment.This move certainly looks quite unexpected and will enable Maruti Suzuki to promote the A-Star brand, which has not really caught the imagination of Indian customers. The A-Star is also Maruti Suzuki’s largest export model, accounting for close to 70% of the exports at 1,38,266 units in 2010-11. The A-Star has not done well in India and sells only 3000 units a month. In comparison the highly dated Estilo manages 6000 units a month.
Indians have an obsession for sedans and 3-box cars. The general mentality is that a sedan spells premium and status and thus the craze for sedans is quite high. Now with the A-Star sedan, Maruti Suzuki will be able to address this set of customers who are looking for a sedan, but don’t want to shell out too much money. The idea of a A-Star sedan sounds absolutely insane, because honestly an A-Star with a boot will look worse than the last generation Swift DZire.
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