Maruti Suzuki: A new deal in the offing!

The top car maker in the country, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) may partner with Skoda in the near future to come up with a new concept car. With its eyes on capturing a large segment of the small car market, Skoda plans to partner with Maruti to develop a new small car.

The car is being touted to be launched in the year 2012 and is expected to be priced below Skoda’s famous small car Skoda Fabia at a price range of around 2-5 lakhs. With this price range, this new concept car is believed to give the leading small cars in the market today, like Chevrolet Beat, Maruti Suzuki A-Star, Wagon R a tough competition.

Spokespersons from Skoda have confirmed that may utilize inputs from Maruti to launch their newest small car in the market. The talks are believed to being held in Japan, Suzuki’s home base. After Maruti A-Star's runaway success and the increasing success of Wagon R and Hyundai i10, more and more small cars are being introduced in the Indian market.

It should be noted that the Skoda-Maruti arrangement on new products and design sharing come close on the heels of the German automaker Volkswagen Group's purchase of a 19.9 per cent stake in SMC for $2.5 billion last year. Skoda is part of the diversified Volkswagen Group, which also owns various other brands such as Audi, Lamborghini and Bentley. The two companies are expected to announce their joint plans early next year.

Skoda hopes to multiply its sales in India to about 40,000 units by the end of year 2011. As part of its strategy, it would be aiming to more than double sales of the Fabia hatchback. It must be borne in mind that Skoda Fabia recently saw a sharp price cut and introduction of new engines.

 With the year 2011, Skoda would also be introducing an entry-level sedan in the Rs 6 lakh-10 lakh range. This will be developed entirely by Skoda and is believed to help them achieve their sales target of the next year.