Maruti launches the lighter, efficient Dzire. Starting price Rs 5.45 lakh

Maruti Suzuki today launched the new Dzire sedan, a lighter and more fuel efficient vehicle at Rs 5.45 lakh onwards (ex showroom, Delhi). The petrol variant begins at Rs 5.45 lakh and goes up to Rs 8.41 lakh. Diesel variant begins at Rs 6.45 lakh and goes up to Rs 9.41 lakh. Maruti spent Rs 1,000 crore to develop the new Dzire.

First launched in 2008, Dzire happens to be Maruti’s second most sold car (after the Alto) and brings 14 per cent of the company’s domestic sales. Dzire also is the largest selling compact sedan in the country accounting for half of the segment volumes. The new Dzire offers a higher fuel efficiency of 5.5 per cent and 6.8 per cent on the petrol and diesel variant, respectively. Diesel Dzire claims to give an efficiency of 28.4 km/litre while petrol offers a mileage of 22 km per litre. Bookings for the new car started early this month and the company has already got bookings of 33,000 cars. Deliveries will start immediately.

“We have designed a fresh new car that is an authentic sedan. It is more spacious and more comfortable, more feature packed.

The many fine touches on the inside make it plush and premium, distinguishing it from everything else,” said Kenichi Ayukawa, managing director at Maruti Suzuki. He said it is bound to generate plenty of excitement among its young and aspirational customers. Dzire is also critical for the market leader as it eyes an annual volume of two million cars by 2020 (it sold 1.56 million vehicles in FY17).

With this launch, the country’s top car maker desires to position Dzire as a vehicle distinct from Swift which happened to provide cues for the initial model when it was launched in 2008. The new model is now called Dzire and not Swift Dzire as it seeks to break away from the Swift association. The first generation of Dzire was seen as a Swift with an additional boot space. Strategically, the company is bringing the full model change of Dzire first and the new Swift may come next year.

In a segment marked by the presence of more than a dozen players, Dzire commands 50 per cent of the volumes. Dzire has been the company’s second highest sold model for three consecutive years. Maruti sold a total of 200,000 Dzires last financial year. To put this in perspective, the volumes sold is more than what companies like Tata Motors, Honda and Toyota sell across all the models put together. On a cumulative basis, 1.38 million units of Dzire have been sold since the launch in 2008.

Dzire competes with Hyundai’s Xcent, Honda’s Amaze and Toyota’s Etios. The latest product to enter the market has been Tata Motors’ Tigor. The closest competitor of Dzire is Hyundai’s Xcent, which clocked annual volume of about 47,000 units. The Korean car maker last month launched the new model of Xcent and hopes to sell 60,000 units a year.

The new Dzire is highly contemporary in design, has a wider front and sports additional features to the outgoing model. It is lighter in weight (up to 105 kgs) and therefore offers higher fuel efficiency. The diamond cut alloy wheels enhances the appeal. The new touch screen infotainment system has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. This Dzire also has rear air conditioning vents. Overall, the company aims to enhance the product value through its new design language and appeal to buyers in late 20s and mid 30s.