New cars adding more features, technology: Autocar India

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There have been three new car launches in the last one month. Hormazd Sorabjee, Editor of Autocar India comments on the trend.

 

He says that the SX4 is a car that they hope will take the brand upmarket. It is the new generation of Suzuki and it is a kind of takeoff from where the Swift is in the Sedan segment.

 

Excerpts from CNBC-TV18's exclusive interview with Hormazd Sorabjee:

 

Q: The SX4 has just been priced and the Logan got priced some time back. How do you view the competitive scenario at this point of time, in that particular segment?

 

A: There is a lot of action and both cars are quite significant. The SX4, from Maruti's standpoint, is a car that is hoping to take the brand up market. The car is good and the product is good. It is the new generation of Suzuki and is a take off from where the Swift is in the Sedan segment.

 

But the challenges are different and go beyond the product. It is going to be up against the Honda brand and that has a certain cache as does Toyota in the segment. So, it is all about brand positioning and that is more of a challenge for Maruti than the product.

 

Q: The perception of Maruti has been that it is a mass carmaker. Will it be able to beat that perception with this Sedan?

 

A: I think where Maruti really scores is in the service segment. It has got one of the best service networks around and that is perhaps one chink in Honda's arm - Honda's service network is not as robust as Maruti's probably is.

 

But in terms of product, the Honda is very strong. It goes beyond an attractive price value and includes styling, the brand and things like that. I think it is going to be difficult; it is going to be tough, however good the product is.

 

There are certain mindsets, which take time to change but if they chip away, give good products and good service, I think this could be really one of the surprises in the segment.

 

Q: What about the Spark in the way it is priced between Rs 3-4 lakh. What do you think it will do to the segment where Alto and all are currently?

 

A: Spark is again an excellent product; frankly they aren't going to have too many volumes. They are limited to just around 2,000 a month, which is not going to really make a big dent in that segment, which is really massive.

 

Certain models over there sell 15,000-16,000 a month; so that is really a fraction of what the segment size is. So, however good it is, I think there is a limit to how much General Motors can do with the Spark. But it is a good product - the new generation Matiz.

 

What we are seeing is that a lot of the new models which are coming out are pushing the game further in terms of product attributes and technology. It is going to be about distributions and how you scale up that sort of thing that determine success finally.