Maruti Suzuki Alto automatic on the cards

Maruti Suzuki is planning to come up with an AMT (automated manual transmission) version of the Alto K10. The strong demand for the AMT version of the Celerio has urged the company to introduce more small cars with automatic versions.

The latest compact hatchback from Maruti, the Celerio, is enjoying good demand since its launch, at the recently concluded Auto Expo. The bookings of the AMT variants of the car have exceeded the company’s expectations with more than half of the overall bookings belonging to the AMT.

So what is so special about the AMT version? The AMT enables drivers to shift gears manually whenever they want or put it in the automatic mode and drive. This feature has been introduced for the first time in any vehicle from the mid-size segment of cars in our country. The gearbox is currently being imported from Magneto Marelli and Maruti Suzuki plans to localise it by next year.

The Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 has been the highest selling model for the manufacturer. However, the sales of the car have decreased by three per cent to 2.08 lakh units in April-January FY2014. The company thinks that with the introduction of the AMT version, they will be able to boost the sales of the car.

Maruti plans to add the automatic variants to more cars soon. They think the demand will increase in rural areas where consumers prefer lucrative features at low prices. Surely, other manufacturers don’t want to stay behind and also plan to do the same. Recently, Tata announced the introduction of the AMT variants in vehicles across their portfolio, starting with the Nano and Zest. We wouldn’t be surprised if AMT versions of the Hyundai Eon, Datsun Go and similar vehicles from the small-segment of cars follow suit.

Mayank Pareek, COO, marketing and sales, Maruti Suzuki, said, “I had expected around 35per cent of sales to come from the auto gear option. I was very confident of the response, but others had said I was expecting too much. AMT was a completely new technology and untested yet in this market. Now we are trying to increase supply. The demand has been very satisfying.”

Source: The Financial Express