Maruti-Suzuki-800

Today’s your last chance to buy a Maruti 800

if you live in Delhi, or 12 other leading cities of India, and would like to possess a new Maruti 800, you better buy one today.

From Thursday new Bharat IV emission norms come into force in Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Kanpur, Agra, Hyderabad and Bangalore. In a conscious bid to phase out the model, Maruti 800′s manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki India has chosen not to upgrade its engine to meet the new norms.

Instead it will stop selling the Maruti 800 in these cities, though the vehicle will available elsewhere in the country for a little longer.

Launched in December 1983, the Maruti 800 revolutionised India’s automobile industry, discovering a vast untapped market, soon leaving its competitors then — the Premier Padmini and the Ambassador — way behind in popularity. Till 2006, when it was replaced by another Maruti Suzuki brand, the Alto, it remained the country’s bestselling car..

“The Maruti 800 laid the solid foundation on which the company currently stands,” said R C Bhargava, chairman, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. “Frugal engineering that the 800 was the first to employ, is now being adopted by car makers around the world.”

History of the 800

Sales of the M800, which retails at 210,000 rupees (4,600 dollars), have been falling for four years. In February this year 3,178 were sold, down from a peak of more than 20,000 in March 2003.

The model accounts for just three percent of total sales for Maruti Suzuki and is being edged out by better-value small cars with more features, including the company’s own Alto, which sells for 230,000 rupees (5,111 dollars).

Yezdi Nagporewalla, an auto sector analyst at consultancy KPMG India, said: “The 800 has been the most significant car for India for two decades but it has passed the baton to Tata Motors’ Nano.

“Consumers have shown a declining preference for the 800 reflected in the deteriorating sales figures. They would not have paid extra for the upgrade to a 20-year-old model.”

The Nano, made by rival Tata Motors, is the much-hyped cheapest car in the world and retails for 100,000 rupees.

In 1981, when Maruti Udyog was formed as a state-run company, Indian drivers had just two options if they wanted to buy locally made cars — and often a five-year wait to get the keys.

Premier Automobiles in Mumbai produced cars with help from Italy’s Fiat, while Hindustan Motors in Calcutta (Kolkata) manufactured the bulky Ambassador. Both were private companies.

Then prime minister Indira Gandhi allowed Japan’s Suzuki to pick up a stake in Maruti Udyog — an unprecedented move at a time when India’s economy was largely closed.

“It was perhaps one of the very early steps to economic liberalisation,” wrote the chairman of Maruti Suzuki India, R.C. Bhargava, in his 2010 book “The Maruti Story”.

Suzuki’s stake has grown from 26 percent to 52.4 percent over the years.

The first M800 drove off the production line on December 14, 1983 at a factory once over-run with weeds and monkeys. Some 2.4 million M800s have been sold since.

At an original price of about 52,000 rupees including tax, it was seen as the perfect first car and counted India cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar among its owners.

Since then, India’s car revolution has gathered pace, with total car sales forecast to reach two million this year and to triple in the next decade, largely driven by small vehicle sales, according to industry estimates.

Liberalisation policies since the early 1990s have resulted in a rising middle class whose members have greater disposable income, making them targets for foreign car manufacturers.

Last month, French automaker Renault and its Japanese partner Nissan confirmed plans to launch a car in 2012 to rival the Nano, in partnership with scooter and three-wheel specialist Bajaj Auto.

Ford, Toyota and Honda are also poised to launch small cars in India in the next two years.

Despite the end of an era, the M800 still has a loyal following.

“It’s a zero-maintenance, poor man’s car,” said Shobham Tendolkar, who runs a transport business and bought an M800 in 1995. “I will keep it till it stops working.”

 source: hindustantimes and AFP

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