Further intensifying the price-war in the premium hatchback segment, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL) on Wednesday launched the new version of Swift, priced between Rs.4.22 lakh and Rs.5.53 lakh for the petrol versions and Rs.5.17 lakh and Rs.6.38-lakh for the diesel variants. Built on an entirely new platform, MSIL's popular hatchback offers improved fuel efficiency and over 140 new features, many for the first time ever in an entry-level variant, claims the company.
MSIL, which sold over six lakh units of Swift since it was launched in 2005, has invested over Rs.550 crore in the project. Interestingly, new weight reduction techniques have helped MSIL engineers offers more mileage — 6 per cent more in diesel (22.9 km a litre) and 4 per cent more in the petrol version (18.6 km a litre). The carmaker has also introduced the VVT engine technology in all petrol variants that gives 87 PS of power, while the DDiS diesel engine delivers 75 PS of power.
“We have launched the new Swift at a time when there was significant demand for the outgoing model. In keeping with the Swift's iconic status, we had to ensure that the brand continues to offer the latest and the best in terms of features, design, performance and aspiration,” MSIL Managing Director and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi told journalists here. MSIL already has 50,000 bookings of the new Swift. “We are increasing the production of the car to about 17,000 units in the next few months from 12,000 units at present. Our second production unit in Manesar (Haryana), scheduled to be operational from next month, will start with rolling out of Swift that will help bring down the waiting period from 3-4 months to 2-3 months,” Mr. Nakanishi said. Asked when the company would introduce the sedan version of the new Swift, Mr. Nakanishi said: “We should have a new sedan type of vehicle of this car…no timeline has been fixed yet.”
