Over one lakh bookings have come in for the Maruti Suzuki’s new Swift in about 10 weeks, making an unprecedented mark in the passenger vehicle segment.

While Maruti commenced bookings for its third-generation all-new Swift on January 18, it was officially launched at the Auto Expo in early February at a starting price of ₹4.99 lakh.

Style statement

Acknowledging the milestone, a company official said about 15 per cent of customers have opted for auto gear shift variants.

“This is actually a significant percentage and it may even go up further,” said the official.

Presently, the waiting period for the new Swift is 8-10 weeks.

Interestingly, Maruti’s internal research revealed that style has emerged the top among the three reasons for a customer opting for the new Swift.

About one in four (26 per cent) are buying the the new Swift for style (26 per cent) followed by features and Maruti Suzuki brand.

“ Earlier generation customers considered Swift primarily for Maruti Suzuki brand (21 per cent) followed by looks and mileage. Top variant of Swift accounts for about 31 per cent of the total bookings,” said the official.

Since its launch in 2005, Maruti Swift has cumulative sales of more than 1.8 million units.

At a starting price of ₹4.22 lakh, the company launched its second generation Swift in 2011 with improved fuel efficiency and more than 140 new features in an entry-level variant.

During the period 2005-2011, the Swift had sold more than six lakh units and became the highest selling car in the premium compact segment.

The current Swift entailed a developmental expenditure of ₹700 crore and comes with 98 per cent localisation when compared with ₹500 crore investment and 95 per cent localisation of the second-generation Swift.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW