Reports suggest that Maruti is planning to bring two new sub-5 Lakh cars that could be possible replacements for the Alto 800 and Celerio.
Maruti is the leader in the hatchback market of India, with offering nearly 9 hatchbacks on offer. Most of them have received a major upgrade in the past two years. However, the Maruti Alto 800 and Celerio are the ones left with a facelift or a big update.
New reports suggest that Maruti is working on two new cars that will cost under Rs 5 Lakhs. One will be an 800cc hatchback and the other will be a 1 Litre hatch. It will be just for the Indian market and will be launched by 2021.
Maruti will discontinue the Alto 800 and Celerio by next year. In replacement, it will bring the two new cars, codenamed YOC and YNC. Reportedly, Maruti has already started working on the 800cc hatchback and is planning for the launch period.
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The small car segment has seen lower sales from the past few years. However, it is still one of the most popular segments in the Indian car market. Not every brand has its car in this segment but Maruti has nearly three cars which are one of the best selling models in India.
There are problems that come in the way of developing a small car. The first and most important being to keep the costs in control. Since the safety norms are a must now, the production costs have increased for all the cars. But, for the entry-level class, it matters the most.
Maruti is already discontinuing the Alto K10 in India by the end of this month. The 1.0 Litre Alto is priced too near to the S-Presso and Alto 800, thus seeing a lower response. In case of Celerio too, it is wedged tightly between the WagonR and Swift.
Also, Celerio is one of the most dated models of Maruti Suzuki currently. It has received a BS6 upgrade already with its 1.0 Litre and 1.2 Litre petrol engines. Celerio is comparatively more popular with the cab fleet operators like Ola and Uber.
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In the case of Alto, the brand name has been in India for almost two decades. The new model could get a completely new name or could be a new generation Alto. It will come with features like steering mounted audio controls, touchscreen infotainment system and rear parking sensors.
