NEW DELHI: India's largest car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) has stopped production of its compact hatchback Ritz, sources close to the development told ETAuto. The company also reported zero production of Ritz in the last two months according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers' data. Sources also suggest that the car will be replaced by upcoming vehicle Ignis+ which is a compact crossover.
According to an industry source MSIL wanted to stop the production in February 2016 but the carmaker went on to produce 28,000 units more.
On the other side, the sales of the compact hatchback have not been able to match the performance of its siblings like Swift and Celerio.
Maruti Suzuki sold 3038, 2515 and 5 units of Ritz in the months of August, September and October, respectively. Looking at the production and sales of the compact hatchback, is Maruti Suzuki Ritz coming to an end in the Indian car market?
However, the company declined to comment on the production halt of Ritz.
Launched in 2009, Ritz has not been very successful in the Indian market. The carmaker updated the model only once in the product's complete life cycle of seven years.
On an average, the company sold 2500-3000 units of Ritz per month, which was very low when compared to other models of the company.
Industry experts believe that the carmaker has been able to launch successful products which are already facing the production constraint. So, it would be better for the company to remove the low performing models and produce popular models as the OEM has limited production facility.
Experts also point out the fact that on an average, any product doesn't have a lifecycle of more than 2-3 years.
Kaushik Madhavan, Director - Automotive & Transportation, MENASA at Frost & Sullivan said, "There are primarily 2 areas of benefit as a result of stopping Ritz production. a)This will help MSIL shift production capacity towards new models+ which are in higher demand, like Brezza, Baleno and so on. b) Focusing on Ignis will give MSIL the opportunity to prepare towards the impending BS VI, India NCAP and CAFE regulations . MSIL can bring in more modern, efficient and safety compliant technologies.
At present, Maruti Suzuki can produce 1.5 million units annually from its existing plants in Manesar and Gurgaon. However, the carmaker is coming up with a new plant in Gujarat which will further add 1.5 million units to the current production capacity that can provide some relief to the carmaker. The parent company, Suzuki has invested Rs 8,500 crore to set-up the new facility in Gujarat.
Due to production constraint in the past, the carmaker postponed the launch of its compact crossover Ignis to next year+ . Ignis was supposed to be launched during the festive season this year.
Some experts also believe that the company is also preparing for new launches which are planned for next year. So, to meet the demand of the existing and upcoming models the carmaker may let go with low performing old models.
Maruti Suzuki is planning to bring Ignis, Baleno RS+ and facelift of Swift siblings, which are expected to do well, in 2017.
