Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Dec 06, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Dec 06, 2002 |
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Cars Marketing - Strategy Maruti's Vitara to take on Merc, HM Vipin V. Nair
NEW DELHI, Dec. 5 THE country's largest carmaker, Maruti Udyog Ltd, may price its soon-to-be-launched Grand Vitara utility vehicle at Rs 20-22 lakh, pitting it against a host of similar vehicles that will hit the Indian roads next year. Maruti recently displayed the Vitara at a dealer meeting held in Thailand. The price of Rs 20-22 lakh was indicated to the dealers, industry sources said. The Grand Vitara is most likely to debut in India during the last quarter of this financial year. The company recently received approvals from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to import and sell the vehicle in the country. Vitara will be imported through the completely built unit (CBU) route and be the most expensive vehicle from the stables of Maruti. So far, Hindustan Motors has launched the Mitsubishi Pajero and Mercedes Benz, its M-Class utility vehicles, in the Indian market through the CBU route. These vehicles are priced at over Rs 33 lakh and about Rs 50 lakh, respectively. More to follow: The year 2003 will see a number of utility vehicles (UVs) rolling out from the stables of auto majors such as General Motors, Ford and Hyundai as demand for swanky UVs is on the rise in the country. While Hyundai has already announced that it would introduce the Terracan in India, Ford is planning to launch the Escape. General Motors has indicated that it would launch the Isuzu Panther. Toyota is readying the Prado. The increasing appetite for UVs is evident from the huge success of the Scorpio from Mahindra & Mahindra. Buoyed by the success of the vehicle, Mahindra is now planning to expand its production capacity.
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