Dzire offers growth opportunity in sedan segment: Maruti Suzuki MD Hisashi Takeuchi

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd is looking to further increase its share in the sedan segment with the new Dzire even as the industry witnesses a drastic dip in the popularity of saloon cars.

"The total market of the compact sedan may be shrinking but for us, it’s not shrinking. In the 2023-24 financial year, our Dzire sales increased. We are confident that the new Dzire will give us further growth opportunity in this segment," says Hisashi Takeuchi, managing director and CEO, Maruti Suzuki India.

“In order to maintain our market share, we have to have a presence in each of the segments including sedans,” says Takeuchi.

Maruti Suzuki on Monday launched the fourth generation of its entry-level sedan Dzire with prices starting at ₹6.79 lakh. India’s largest carmaker has cumulatively sold 27 lakh units of Dzire since its launch in 2008, making it the fourth highest-selling car in the country.

Sedans contribute 8% to overall car sales in India. Most of the sedans sold in the country are in the entry-level category where Maruti Suzuki Dzire competes with Hyundai Aura and Honda Amaze.

Every second vehicle that's sold in the sedan segment happens to be from the Maruti stable, says Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer, Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki India. "Maruti’s share in entry-sedan is even higher at 61%," he says. Maruti Suzuki sold 1.65 lakh Dzire sedans last fiscal.

With the new design, Maruti Suzuki has differentiated the Dzire sedan from its hatch counterpart, the Swift. "Dzire has been sharing the face with Swift but this time we totally changed the front fascia and other parts so that the differentiation of the product is more," says Takeuchi.

If we are not able to differentiate the products properly then there is always a challenge, says Banerjee. "Dzire and Swift had a very close resemblance, we wanted to cut the umbilical cord. It was by design we cut it," he says.

To further differentiate the new Dzire from taxis, the carmaker will not offer the new model to fleet operators. It has decided to continue the outgoing model—the Tour S—for cabs.

The new Dzire scored a five-star rating for adult and four stars for child occupant safety in Global NCAP voluntary test. It is the first Maruti Suzuki car to achieve a five-star Global NCAP rating. The Dzire comes fitted with six airbags, electronic stability control and pedestrian protection as standard.

Nevertheless, India’s car market is skewed towards SUVs as they offer better ground clearance required to navigate pot-holed roads. Not surprisingly, Takeuchi doesn’t think there is a need to introduce more sedans right now. “We need to introduce additional models in SUVs,” he says.