Here are some interesting bits churned up in a recent article in Financialexpress.com.
- Over 50%, i.e., half the 26,000 bookings since launch of Celerio on February 8 are for the AMT variant.
- Launch-time expectation of Maruti for this completely new and untested AMT technology in Celerio was 35% of total sales. Many insiders thought the expectation was inordinately high.
- Waiting period on the Celerio AMT is now over 6 months because of the slow supply of imported AMT kits from Magneti Marelli, Italy.
- Maruti currently produces around 5,000 units of the Celerio a month.
- Global launch of Celerio diesel with Suzuki’s first ever home-grown diesel engine. Will be out by end 2014, but it won’t get any AMT.
- At INR 4.14 lakh, the Celerio is currently the cheapest automatic car in the market.
But it won’t be for long.
Maruti-Suzuki has plans to introduce the AMT into its top selling model Alto K10 which is also expected to get a refreshment sometime this year. So expect the new Automatic gear shifter on the facelifted Alto K10. Immediate competition could come from Tata with its upcoming Nano twist F-tronic.
Maruti says it will go strong with its plans to introduce more automatic cars into the country. Next in line is Wagon R, which will receive the AMT in 2015.
When the Maruti Alto K10 AMT is launched, it is expected to be the cheapest car to boast of an automated manual transmission, till the time Tata lends it on their Nano. The clock ticks.
