Maruti Suzuki - Auto Blog

Maruti Suzuki has launch its new car - Ritz with tag line Live the Moment. It is really a great car design wise and also the price line is comparatively cheaper than the competitor cars.

India’s number one carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Limited unveiled the much-awaited Ritz here today. The car is available in both, petrol and diesel engine options.

With the Ritz – a Superior stance hatchback positioned at the premium-end of the compact car market – Maruti Suzuki consolidates its leadership in the highly competitive compact car segment. The Ritz comes with the BS-IV and OBD-I compliance much ahead of the regulation being enforced in the country.

The company commands the largest market share of 58 per cent in the compact car (A2) segment.

The Ritz has been specifically designed for India. Maruti Suzuki engineers worked with the Suzuki design team in Japan to co-design the car and carry out India-specific changes.

Unveiling the Ritz, Shinzo Nakanishi, Managing Director and CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Limited said, “The Ritz combines modern European design, the sportiness of the Swift, the latest in engine technology and Suzuki’s globally acclaimed expertise in compact cars. The Ritz further reiterates parent Suzuki Motor Corporation’s commitment to bring global car models with contemporary design, style and next generation fuel efficient, environment friendly engine technology for its customers in India. The Ritz is one more step by Indian engineers towards capability development in automobile research and design.”

The heart of the Ritz are the brand new 1.2 Litre K12M Petrol engine and the 1.3 DDiS Diesel power-plant, each offering optimum performance and fuel efficiency. Alongside this, the transmission system has been optimized for the Ritz to match Indian driving habits. With this the Ritz offers the best-in-class combination of fuel efficiency and drivability.

A car for everyone

With its overall length of 3.7 metres height of 1.6 metres and a width of 1.7 metres, the Ritz offers a comfortable roomy cabin with ample legroom for 5 adults. Despite its large frame, the Ritz has a tight turning radius of 4.7 meters.

The suspension of the vehicle with a high ground clearance of 170 mm has been tuned for Indian road conditions, and provides excellent handling and ride comfort. The rear wheel housing has been modified to accommodate the bigger and wider tyres used only in Ritz.

The customer will find a fine balance between Emotion and Functionality in the Ritz. Being a car meant for the family, the rear seat has been designed for comfortable seating of three passengers. The seat profile has been modified for better comfort and to add to overall interior synergy.

As a first in the industry, two sets of dual-tone instrument panels that blend with the body colours are offered in the ZXi version.

Maruti Suzuki Ritz: Superior Technology all the way

In Ritz, Maruti Suzuki brings innovative technologies for benefit of customers and the society.

o Ritz is the first passenger car in India to be tested and verified for EMC (Electro Magnetic Compatibility) compliance. EMC standards are prevalent in European countries and Maruti Suzuki as the market leader has adopted them proactively.

o The Ritz is ELV compliant (no use of ecologically harmful substances such as chromium, cadmium, mercury, etc). ELV (End of Life Vehicle) norms are prevalent in Europe for ensuring recyclability of material but are yet to be enforced in India.

o In line with the Government of India’s intention to introduce ethanol blended fuel, Maruti Suzuki has made design modifications to make Ritz E10 compliant.

o The Ritz comes with Drive-by-wire technology in both petrol and diesel variants. This alongwith the 32-bit Engine Management system provides faster signal processing and quick response..

The Heart of the Ritz

The Ritz will be available with two different power-train options:

· a 1.2-litre, four-cylinder, 16-valve unit with maximum power of 85PS petrol engine (Superb fuel efficiency of 17.7 kmpl: Certified as per CMVR rule 115)

· the successful 1.3-litre, Common Rail 16-valve diesel (DDiS) unit that delivers a maximum power of 75PS. (Excellent fuel efficiency of 21.1 kmpl: Certified as per CMVR rule 115)

The all-new K12M engine on the Ritz Petrol has been specifically designed for Indian applications. The BS-IV and OBD-1 compliant engine promises to be best in class fuel efficient, high performance, low emission, light weight, with lower NVH (Noise, Vibration & Harshness).

To make the all-aluminium engine lighter and more fuel efficient, high grade plastic parts have been extensively used. The skirt area of the piston has been shortened to reduce weight, which helps in lowering friction and enhance fuel efficiency.

Maruti Suzuki engineers worked as part of Suzuki’s engine teams for design, calibration and testing of the engine in Japan and in India. This is a step further in enhancing the engine development capability.

Some other salient features of the all-new K12M are:

o Innovative rocker-less DOHC cam shaft, plastic intake manifold and offset crank shaft with low tension rings to reduce losses and improve fuel efficiency

o Smart Distributor Less Ignition (SDLI) system with dedicated plug top coils, High pressure fuel system & advanced injectors for superior atomization to provide uniform and optimized combustion for better performance.

o Optimized cylinder block, light piston and nut-less con rod for light weight configuration

o Improved engine stiffness and use of advanced technology like silent timing chain to improve NVH characteristics

o First engine oil change after 10,000 kms as against conventional 1,000 kms

o Spark plugs first change at 40,000 kms as against conventional 20,000 kms

The Ritz Diesel is powered by the super successful 1.3L DDIS powerhouse, which propels the Swift and Swift Dzire. The engine configuration has been modified to meet the forthcoming BS-IV and OBD-1 norms and the improved calibration and tuning provides excellent combination of driveability and mileage.

Exterior delight

The exterior design of the Ritz embodies energy, youthfulness, and delight. Sharp lines, bold contours and flowing roofline give an appealing look and youthful sporty stance.
The strong V-identity of Suzuki design language in the front is well supported by expressive headlamps. The pronounced fender flairs add solidness and sporty character.
The side view is characterized by dynamic shoulder and sculpted character supporting it above the sill.
The stylish boomerang-shaped, rear combination lamps are placed at the rear corners so as to maximize the visual width. The stylish rear bumper incorporates reflex reflectors and RR fog lamp, adding to its character and overall styling of the vehicle to suit Indian requirements.

Youthful and useful Interiors

The design theme for interior is youthful and useful. The interior is focused on enjoyment and “ease of use” concept.
The wrap-around character of the instrument panel brings in a feeling of freshness. The console mounted gear shift lever – another first in Maruti Suzuki cars – is an ergonomic delight for the driver and sets the interiors apart, visually.
Streamlined center console accentuated by the easy flowing silver garnish adds uniqueness. The repeating oval motif forms rhythm in the interiors.
The cabin features a contemporary look defined by gentle curves and blue-toned colour scheme. A high panoramic roof gives passengers a sense of openness.
The Ritz comes with ‘steering integrated audio control’ that is a hallmark for contemporary cars.

Stance & Space

The Ritz while being based on the Swift platform has a superior stance. The seating in Ritz has been moved upward by 54mm in the front and 47mm in the rear, providing a comfortable seating and panoramic driving position.

With an overall vehicle height of 1620 mm enabling higher head room (+24mm in front and +31mm in rear), it allows for ample occupant space in the Ritz. This ergonomic layout provides the best in class leg room and head room along with ease of entry and exit to passengers.

Safety & Security

Ritz comes with a rigid and light weight body structure with crumple zones. The safety equipments of the Ritz includes an energy-absorbing structure, Airbags, ABS with EBD, a collapsible steering column, front seat-belt pre-tensioners and force limiters (Specifications vary according to variants).

All variants of Ritz are equipped with Maruti’s iCATS Immobiliser system to provide much required security to the customers.

Groovy Variants

The car will be available in five variants, three variants with petrol engine - LXi, VXi and ZXi and two variants with Diesel engine - LDi and VDi. While Airbags and ABS are standard on ZXi, the Vxi and VDi variants have ABS as an optional feature.

Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India Limited achieved its highest ever domestic and total sales in January 2009.

In January 2009, the company sold 67,005 units, in the domestic market, up 5.6% over corresponding month last fiscal. The previous highest monthly domestic sales were 65,216 units in November 2007.

In January 2009, the company exported 4774 units.

In all, the company sold 71,779 vehicles in January 2009, up 5.4% over corresponding month last fiscal. The previous highest Total Sales were registered in March 2007 (71,772 units)

The sales figures for January 2009 are given below:

* A-star launched in Nov08, SX4 launched in May07, DZire launched in Mar08, Esteem figures for 07-08.

Many auto magazines and journalists opt A-Star of Maruti Suzuki to be the best model of the year in the compact car segment. The sporty appearance of A-Star is the most demanding factor of A-Star. The target of this car is youngster who does not need much space for the whole family. Obviously, this car is not good as a family car as there may be space constraint but compact cars always mean for less space. And no doubt A-Star is the best among the compact cars in India. You will see the news of A-Star in newspaper and magazines. Nowadays people who are crazy about cars always talk about A-Star. There are some photos for the shipment of A-Star and this proves that A-Star has a great demand for export also and also it is expected that A-Star will be the most successful export model of Maruti Suzuki.

A-Star is completely a different can model of Maruti Suzuki. The punch line “A Star has come” is perfect for this car. It is very sporty in appearance and also very comfortable. This car received many positive feedbackfrom the top journalists. The gear shifting of A-Star is extraordinarily great and also the sound quality of the audio system is also good.

It was supposed to be launched in October, 2008 but due to some reasons it is launched on November. A Star was launched on Wednesday, 19 November in the Indian Market. The price of this vehicle is very less as compared to the features provided in this car and also the appearance and comfort level of the car. Emission from the A-Star complies with the Euro 3 (Bharat 3) norms which are operational in 13 Indian cities and also this vehicle is exporting in different cities of Europe.

The price range of A-Star is Rs 347,000 to Rs 412,000 and you will not regret to buy a sport car in this range. I would say this is the best car among the compact cars. Maruti Suzuki is planning to sell 50,000 cars in the domestic market while the target for export is 100,000 units. In the export model, the figure for variants was supposed to be about 400 but now they will export only about 200 variants. A-Star is exporting in more than 150 countries and this model is especially for export only.

CSI also popularly known as Customer Satisfaction Index is one of the most effective aspects to measure the customer satisfaction level to the products of automobile industry. JD power customers give feedbacks about the cars they own and Maruti Suzuki is in the top position with 820 score which is the 9th times continuous achievement of the Maruti Suzuki. The average score is 780 and Maruti Suzuki is followed by Mitsubishi. The point-wise list of automobile companies according to the JD power is:

Maruti Suzuki 820
Mitsubishi 767
Hyundai 764
Mahindra 758
Skoda 758
Honda 755
Chevrolet 737
Mahindra Renault 736
Ford 730
Tata 720

Most of the owners of Maruti Suzuki cars are satisfied with the customer service of the company and their products. And also the services provided by the Maruti Suzuki show rooms and the other agents are the best. ” We have done it once again - Together!” is the tag line of Maruti Suzuki for their success and they credit their success to all the employees, owners and lovers of Maruti Suzuki.

Splash is the name which is quite familiar to the fans of Maruti Suzuki. But unfortunately there is no more model in the name of Splash. Instead Maruti Suzuki is going to launch the new model as Ritz and you will find the model in three different colors.

It has been confirmed that Maruti Suzuki is going to launch the model in the name of Ritz because the domain MauritRitz.com and MarutiSuzukiRitz.com have already been registered by the official of Maruti Suzuki.

Maruti Suzuki Ritz will be one of the finest model of the manufacturer with completely new look. But this model will be preceded by the model A Star of Maruti Suzuki. A Star was supposed to launch in 2nd October but it has been delayed.

Also Maruti Suzuki is going to launch other four models by the year 2010. Also Maruti Suzuki is expanding their plant and manpower in order to provide the needs of the customers. Maruti Suzuki is trying to assist the quality and quantity of cars in order to meet the demands and the requirements of their customers.

The news of A Star has already been flooded in the Auto market and Maruti customers are waiting for the new car of the Maruti Suzuki. A Star is going to be launch on the 2nd of October and the pricing of the car will start from Rs. 2, 70,000/- (The lowest variant of the model).

There was a major impact on the Indian Automobile companies due to the import of small cars from foreign companies and the even the leading Automobile Company of India i.e., Maruti Suzuki was badly affected by this impact.

In the last month, Maruti Suzuki witnessed a market down of 10% but in the first half of this month, Maruti Suzuki made some selling and now there is 2% increased in the selling of Maruti Suzuki. Auto Market Analysers expect that there will be increased in the selling of cars in the month of October as it happens in every year. But Maruti Suzuki made some profit even before the month of October. This may be due to the problems facing by the Nano of Tata Motors and the delay of the launching of the Nano.

Maruti Swift Dzire is the most demanding car of Maruti Suzuki and now it has a waiting period of 6-7 months which means if you order for a Swift Dzire today, you will get the car in the month of January-Frebuary. People know that it has a waiting period of long time even if people do not stop booking the car.

Maruti Suzuki always drives the automobile market with the new car models. Most of the maruti users are waiting for the new car model of Maruti, i.e., Maruti A Star. The expected price of the car model is around Rs. 270,000/- and it is expected to be launched in the late Spetember or at the begining of the October. I disclosed this because I have found the information in some of the websites of automobiles. I am putting two videos of Maruti A Star and some photos or pictures of Maruti A Star.

The specification of engine would be:

Displacement: 1000cc, 3 cylinder, MPFi
Engine Type: Petrol
Maximum Power: 64bhp
Maximum Torque: 0

The car will be in the A segment and most of the A segment customers are waiting for this car model of Maruti Suzuki.

According to the European Car standards, Maruti A Star falls in the A segment in the automobile market and the company has started its production in the new Maruti Suzuki plant which is located at Manesar. The car model will target the European market and this is especially for the export to the European market.

Maruti Suzuki is the leading manufacturer in the automobile industry and so far Maruti has developed 13 (thirteen) car models. The production of two car models of Maruti has been closed but Maruti Suzuki is continuously producing the remaining 11 (eleven) models. The thirteen car models that Maruti Suzuki introduced in the automobile market so far are:

1. Omni
2. Maruti 800
3. Esteem
4. Baleno
5. Alto
6. Swift
7. WagonR
8. Swift Dzire
9. SX4
10. Grand Vitara
11. Gypsy
12. Zen
13. Versa

Note : Not according to the order of price or the time of introduction

Out of these models, the production of Baleno and Esteen has been closed. There was a time when people used to know car as Maruti. And also it is well known fact the first car of most of the people will be Maruti car. Most of the Maruti cars are economy cars with good mileage and low price and therefore most of the new customers who are buying cars for the first time in their life prefer Maruti cars as their first cars.