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Our Bureau

Hyderabad, Nov. 20 Researchers at Maruti R&D centre in India are working on multiple fuel options for all the company cars and expect to roll them out in a phased manner, according to Mr I.V. Rao Managing Executive Officer (Engineering), Maruti Suzuki India.

The executive also hinted at realigning the Maruti production lines in the wake of slowdown in the automotive sector and consequent pressure on sales volumes.

This realignment will actually help clear the backlog of waitlist for Swift and Dzire, he said.

Asked whether the slowdown will impact the company’s R&D expansion plans, Mr Rao said the team has 600 engineers and plans to add 150 more by March 2009.

The perspective plan is to have about 1,000 engineers by 2010.

However, it is not easy to find people with specific engineering skills.

Asked if they would consider a smaller car to rival Tata Nano, Mr Rao said “We do not have any plans as yet. In fact, we believe that Indian market conditions are lot different and a car with a 600 cc engine may not suit India requirement in stop-start traffic conditions.

“In fact, smaller 600 cc cars are popular in Japan as they attract lower taxes.”

The recent commissioning of the Manesar plant along with new engine base has increased the company production capacity to one million cars a year.

It has also brought about greater flexibility in the roll-out of models.

Speaking at the launch of their newest hatch, A-Star in Andhra Pradesh, Mr Rao said in the last eight years, the R&D team mandate has been growing by the day.

What started with changes to existing models such as Zen and Esteem, has blown up into a larger role in the case of design of Swift and now A-Star.

“Within few years, we expect a fully India-developed car. The focus now is on localisation and design of platforms that suit Indian conditions. This is necessary as local conditions are lot different from other markets,” he said.

The company plans to sell about 50,000 A-Star cars during the year and does not see its other models getting cannibalised by its launch.

More Stories on : Research & Development | Cars | Human Resources | Maruti Udyog Ltd

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