Its gonna be here soon.... It has created the buzz that no other Maruti has ever created before..... A Maruti for more than Rs. 15 Lakhs..... And you don’t get taken aback???!!!! ... thats not possible ... you wonder why does Maruti have to venture into this segment ... ??? How will Maruti succeed?? These are probably the questions everyone has in mind ... and cannot be answered until the car arrives on the 2nd of February.
After giving a thought to these concerns I have arrived at the following two conclusions:
Firstly, what I believe is that cars from MSIL are no longer Maruti products, they are more Suzuki products. Suzuki wants to change the perception of being a small car maker and become a global player. It also wants to give the Maruti loyalists an opportunity to upgrade while sticking to the brand. Secondly, for the success Maruti needs to work upon factors like the Marketing of the product, segmentation within the competition and correctly understand and respond to the customer’s demands.
Now coming to the first factor, I believe it is a bold decision on part of Suzuki to bring the Kizashi to India because with the immense loyalty and brand recognition that Suzuki holds in India, people also have the perception of Maruti being a peoples car make just as VOLKSWAGEN (which means peoples car... which is just left in the name now!!!!) in India. This means a car maker which provides vehicles which are easy to drive and maintain and are generally the first choice of first time buyers. For Suzuki it is going to be a mammoth task to build up a brand image for cars which cater to the high end ... here is where I like the concept followed by Toyota by having a separate brand Lexus for luxury cars. It abolishes people’s perception with the brand yet having the backing of a trusted name behind it. What Suzuki can do is develop another brand which would cater to the upper segment of cars may be starting from the SX4 onwards. The products can be manufactured at the existing facility of Maruti but marketed under a different brand name.This will help customers shed the inhibitions of using a Maruti product and be more satisfied by using a global product from Suzuki’s stable. And being a Maruti product people will not be sceptical to invest in it and also building a network of sales centres will not be difficult. Though Maruti will have to spend in brand building of the company along with developing the brand of the product itself.
The other alternative that I believe that Maruti could use is that if conceiving a new brand is difficult then it can come up with A class showrooms just the way TATA Motors has started F class showrooms for the Nano in the Tier II towns. These showrooms would sell only the upper segment cars from Maruti stable. These showrooms would have characteristics like a good ambience, well trained staff and all the sales and service facilities of the standard of the showrooms of companies like Skoda, Volkswagen, Toyota, Ford etc. These showrooms would help Maruti overcome the “perception problem”. As I had read in one of the reviews it is essential for Maruti to understand that the customers in this new segment which it is about to enter, are very different then what it has been catering to all these years. These customers demand Quality, Design, Power, and Comfort for which they are ready to pay the extra price. These customers look for an entry level luxury car which could lift up their socio-economic status. As result brand value becomes important to them.
As a product, Kizashi seems upto the mark. The 2.4L engine which produces 178 BHP could be the most powerful car in its class. Reviews and pictures also suggest that the car is very spacious and power delivery is smooth. It also has the option of a 6 speed manual or 6 speed CVT transmission. Once the car becomes available, road tests would put light to some more features.
All in all, Kizashi is a great product, it has come at the right time, Maruti-Suzuki has the necessary resources to make the product a success. I only am apprehensive because of the fact that Maruti was not able to postion and target the Grand Vitara correctly which led to dwindling sales figures. Maruti has to be better prepared this time and only then can a great product like Kizashi become a great Success!!!
BEST WISHES TO MARUTI-SUZUKI FROM CaRzInE!!!
Do watch the Kizashi advertisement here!!
The analysis is very good, and I also personally feel that this baby would work wonders for M-S.Although it wud face tough competition from Honda Civic's new Model that would be launched in the year 2012, till that time its all hunky-dory for Kizashi. The idea of launching it under a different brand is not advisable as Kizashi is not as expensive.And,it can successfully play Game theory with Honda under the same brand.
ReplyDeleteThe second thing is that you must keep in mind that Honda has cars under different catogory and price variation but still has a good grip in the indian markets.Toyota's story is altogetherly different LEXUS is highly expensive and it is necessary to launch such beautiful and powerful beasts under different brand name.
I have some question for u: How is KIZASHI being perceived in American markets as it has already been launched there???
All fine and very well articulated. 2 Feb 11 is near, market is waiting desperately, i expect it too be good car, will give 100% its Price Worth! Maruti Suzuki has legacy of pricing very well. Indian Automobile industry has huge potential to accept such launches by reputed companies. Especially Maruti-Suzuki.. :) hope for the best.
ReplyDelete@Abhay: I agree with ur analysis regarding the civic 2012. I too believe that untill the New civic is launched the Kizashi can play its cards. ALthough the KIzashi is more into Accord's league.
ReplyDeleteAlso the new Brand name was only a proposal. Intead the second idea of opening new brand of showrooms in indeed feasible and will be effctive.
One more thing which i would like to highlight is that when a luxury car maker like VW, Skoda etc launch a cheaper car, they are concieved to be great in Quality, whereas an economy car maker like MSIL tries to bring in the Kizashi, there is skepticism. This is a perception fault and we all feel it
Yes the Kizashi has been launched in the USA, although i havnt researched much about it coz the USA markets and consumers are very different than those in India. But yes, it will not be a cake walk there also to compete against the likes of TOYOTA and HONDA.
I would recommend you join some auto magazine company cause you seem to have the language of a car techie. Well my view regarding the appearance is fantastic from the from the front and disappointing from the back also it lacks the majestic look which Skoda and Volkswagen has or Toyota Camry for that matter . The car is going to be launched through the CBU route which is going to make the car really expensive and Suzuki is known to give products which have value plus they come at a cheaper price. Suzuki makes small and fuel efficient cars and if i am not wrong their biggest vehicle is XL7 .The company is not very popular in the U.S or the Middle East,infact Kia Motors is the most preferred brand in the U.S or the Philippines also Suzuki worked in India as they came to India at a time when India couldn’t afford cars which were not suited for India hence the Maruti 800 . An interesting fact to be noted that certain companies like the ford, Volkswagen or Toyota who came with big cars were successful with the small cars as they had proved their expertise with large cars on the contrary Hyundai suffered serious setbacks with Elantra ,Sonata or Terracan cause they started with Santro .I wish you could be more clear regarding targeting and positioning of Grand Vitara cause the price and the specification automatically signals the target segment . The Grand Vitara and Honda CRV are soft off roaders , but comparatively CRV was a success cause the perception of a Honda is different also people felt that Vitara was overpriced otherwise i am sure the car would have done fairly well .
ReplyDeleteStarting a new brand for Suzuki is a good idea but do you think a company that does not even have proper diesel technology can afford to start a new brand .Nissan has a luxury brand called Infiniti which is sold only in the U.S and the Middle East however the competitive edge of Suzuki is fuel efficient small cars and the brand is built on the same advantage. India cannot be the test market for such a foray as we are a price sensitive market also with such low levels of popularity that Suzuki faces in the U.S i wouldn’t recommend myself for Suzuki.
The Interiors are class apart in fact they have done it well ,a bit plasticky though .My suggestion would be to introduce with a diesel offering and at a tad lower than the Chevrolet cruze ,the car can be a runaway success .Cars such as Skoda Octavia , Volkwagen Jetta or Chevrolet Cruze were successfull cause they offered powerful diesel engines .Here again i pity Suzuki as again they would have to be on the doorsteps of Peugeot or Fiat for one of their diesel engines .The petrol engine of the Kizashi is very powerful which could be one of the selling points in comparison to Accord or Camry .
Anyway we can wait and watch how the future unfolds for Suzuki as they struggle with competition .I still don’t know why Hyundai is not bringing the Kia Brand. Kizashi should be atleast be brought in the CKU route so that can save on the duty and will sell in decent numbers.
Kizashi will be bought by people who have money but not brand conscious.