New Delhi: Small is big at the Auto Expo 2008 in the Capital. The star undoubtedly will be the Rs 100,000 ($2,500) Tata car to be unveiled, but Maruti grabbed Wednesday's honours with a preview of its A-Star concept car.
Apart from A-Star, Maruti Suzuki on Wednesday showcased two other concept cars - Splash and Kizashi.
A-Star, dubbed the global India car and developed by Maruti Suzuki Ltd's research and development (R&D) team in Gurgaon near Delhi, is sleek, smart and fun to drive.
Designed by Saurabh Singh and Rajesh Kumar Gogu of Maruti Suzuki India, the five-door hatchback with a 1,000 cc petrol engine has been designed keeping the European market in mind.
Maruti Suzuki India hopes to commence production of A-Star by October 2008, said the managing director of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Shinzo Nakanishi. The car would be manufactured from the company's Manesar facility in Haryana, he said.
By 2010, Suzuki plans to export 100,000 units of the new model to Europe.
"Maruti's manufacturing capability has reached a level where Suzuki wants to make small cars for Europe exclusively in India," he said.
The pricing of the car is yet to be worked out, Nakanishi added.
A-Star will be an "A-Segment" car as per the European nomenclature (considered the A-2 segment in India) and Euro-V compliant with a 1.0-litre aluminium petrol engine.
Saying that Maruti enjoyed a 50 percent market share in the Indian auto market, Nakanishi disclosed that the company would launch one new model in India every year to consolidate its market position.
The A-Star is considered to be one of the most ambitious projects of Maruti Suzuki India. In fact, the concept car is a first for Maruti Suzuki India's R&D team.
The company has entered into an agreement with Nissan to sell A-Star under the latter's brand name in the US market, Nakanishi said.
Although A-Star attracted most eyeballs and mind space Wednesday at the Expo, Nakanishi was keen to see the Rs.100,000 car of his rival.
He, however, ruled out a price cut for Maruti 800 and dismissed rumours of Maruti's foray into the Rs.100,000 segment.
Suzuki Maruti officials are, however, exercising cautious optimism, knowing that the sales of second-hand Maruti cars could nosedive once the Tata's car is launched. The company plans to juice up its True Value network that sells pre-owned cars in this direction.
Suzuki also expects to sell 60,000 units of Splash in Europe every year, the company said. Splash will be produced in Hungary first and later in India, Nakanishi said.
Suzuki first unveiled the Kizashi concept car at the Frankfurt Motor Show in November. It is unclear whether Kizashi will be produced or remain on Suzuki's drawing board.
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