Maruti Suzuki’s premium hatchback car, Swift has been among the largest selling vehicle across categories. Going by the popularity of the car, Maruti decided to bring out a new variant of the model. While the car has not yet been launched in the market, pre-orders for the car have already broken records, with the Swift receiving 38,000 bookings even though the launch date is seventeen days away.
The amount of bookings that this car has received, reveal that it is probably the first car to receive such an enthusiastic response even before its release in the market. The company’s managing executive officer of sales and marketing, Mayank Pareek, was quoted as saying that the enthusiastic response that the car received is quite unprecedented, especially as the new car has not yet been launched, and even the pricing has yet to be determined.
Last December, the Etios sedan from Toyota received as much as 12,000 bookings even before the company had even begun manufacturer the product. However, even though the company had not yet begun production on the model, the car had not only been unveiled in India, but its pricing details were also revealed.
The third generation Maruti Suzuki Swift is scheduled for launch on August 17. The new model is roomier and longer and sports distinctive interiors. It also features a plastic fuel tank that will help decrease the overall weight of the car, giving it greater fuel efficiency by as much as 5 to 6%.
Maruti Suzuki received 33,000 bookings for its Swift model, when its production was discontinued during June end. The company will begin rolling out their new Swift from their plant in Manesar beginning tomorrow. During the early 1990s, Maruti had received 1,87,000 bookings for its Zen car within just one month since of its launch. Pareek was quoted as saying that back then the production capacity could not be compared. They relied on allotment cards for selling their cars to buyers. Back then deliveries took 3 to 4 years.
The Swift is a benchmark car in the category of premium hatchbacks, which was first introduced in 2005. With the launch of this car, it created the category of premium hatchbacks, a category that has seen a lot of growth since then fueled by interest from global auto companies in this segment.
The Figo was launched by Ford in this category in March 2010, which was followed by the Polo from Volkswagen. The India specific Liva car from Toyota made its worldwide debut recently in the same category. The soon to launch Honda Brio will also be positioned in the same category.
Among one of the fastest growing categories, this category has managed to grow by 20% in the period of January to June, is spite of the sluggish growth in the passenger car market. This segment saw the sales of around 4,39,000 units last year alone. Industry estimates peg the Swift occupied a 24% share in the premium hatchback segment between the months of January to May, whereas the Ford Figo and Hyundai i20 accounted 15% each. Meanwhile the Maruti Suzuk Ritz accounted for 12% sales in the segment.
