Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Wednesday, Oct 22, 2003 |
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Marketing
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Strategy Maruti working on new-look Zen Neha Kaushik
New Delhi , Oct. 21 MARUTI Udyog Ltd seems to be turning the heat on competition. After giving a new look to its WagonR, it is set to redesign its volume driver of yesteryears, the Zen. And this time, market sources point out, the changes will not merely be cosmetic. They reveal that the exteriors of the Zen are to undergo a complete revamp. The new model is likely to be rolled out in the coming new year. Maruti officials, however, when contacted declined to comment on the issue. According to market watchers, the decision to revamp the Zen could be driven by market forces. "While the sales of the WagonR and the Alto are seeing high growth year-to-year, it is not the case with the Zen. Secondly, the basic shape of the Zen has remained the same since the early Nineties when it was launched, leaving aside the odd variant. This is not a good idea in a market that is being driven by constant innovations and models," says an analyst. Sales of the Zen had shown flat growth in the April-September 2003 over the same period last year. Maruti had sold 31,000 units of the Zen in the period. In contrast, the WagonR saw a growth of 44 per cent in the period, while the Alto grew by 58 per cent. Meanwhile, the company is also believed to be working on launching a new version of its Omni. At a press briefing held recently, Maruti had said that it is keen to regularly innovate on its existing models. Many domestic manufacturers, such as Ford and Hyundai, have been coming out with newer variants and revamping their models in a bid to create constant excitement in the market. In the B-segment of the market, in which the Zen is also positioned, Hyundai had recently rolled a new-look variant of its compact car, Santro Xing. The car has received a good response in the market. Maruti too seems to be banking on the same.
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