The country's largest passenger car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) on Wednesday said it expects the yet-to-be-launched midsize premium sedan, Ciaz, to be a market leader in its segment.

The latest car from MSIL's stable will be launched in the first week of October, Mayank Pareek, Chief Operating Officer - Marketing and Sales, MSIL, told presspersons here.

"The market size of the A3+ (midsize sedan) segment is about 16,000-18,000 units a month on an average and we are aiming for leadership in that segment with Ciaz. In the A3- (compact sedan) segment, the Dzire is already the market leader," he said.

Pareek said the company has a lot of loyal customers looking to upgrade from A3- and premium hatchbacks such as Swift and, therefore, such customers will be a major target for the latest car.

In order to make sure that the Ciaz is a successful model in the market, MSIL has trained around 2,800 staff across the company and its dealerships (around 1,370) to explain and convince customers about the car, he said.

"We have learnt after the Kizashi that importing completely built models make no sense. Also, the way you sell a hatchback such as the Alto is very different from how you sell a bigger car. While an Alto buyer can take one week to decide the purchase, a premium car customer wants a relationship and may take at least two-three weeks to decide the purchase," Pareek said.

MSIL said it took 42 months to develop the Ciaz, with most of the design work done in Japan.

Ciaz, which will be available in both petrol and diesel, will be competing with the likes of the Honda City and Hyundai Verna, which are in the price range of around Rs 7.20 lakh to Rs 11.75 lakh.

Apart from keeping Ciaz at a 'competitive price', MSIL also claims it is one of the most fuel-efficient cars in its segment. While the diesel version would give around 26.21 kmpl, the petrol variant would give around 20.73 kmpl, it said.

The car would have more legroom with features such as rear AC vents, projector head-lamps, and a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system. The petrol version will also be available in automatic transmission.

According to analysts, the success of the vehicle will be decided once it enters the market and prices are announced.

"For the product to excel in the market place, the key is how the product is perceived by the customer on pricing, fuel, efficiency, look and overall cost of ownership ... if the product meets these criteria it will do well," Abdul Mazeed, Partner- Automotive Practices at PwC said.

Meanwhile, Pareek said MSIL expects to sell 25-30 per cent more cars this month as compared to August. The company sold around 98,000 units last month.

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