The Maruti Celerio with Auto Gear Shift (AGS) has been making good figures, contributing to nearly 40 percent of the total sales of this hatchback. Now that the new Maruti Alto K10 has been launched, the car manufacturer expects an initial 20 percent of all the sales of the new Alto K10 to come from the AMT version, and later pick up.
Talking to our sister publication Autocar Professional about the technology introduced on this entry-level hatchback, Kenichi Ayukawa, Managing Director and CEO, Maruti Suzuki said that over the next few years, Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) will contribute about 30-40 percent of the company’s total product basket of small cars, and looks forward to the localisation of the AMT kits by next year to meet demand for higher volumes. C. V. Raman, Executive Director, Engineering says that the company is waiting to see the response of the customers to the Alto K10 before it ramps up production of the AMT variant.
Ayukawa also added that the existing Alto was selling around 20,000 units monthly, and a 10 percent increase is expected from its next generation successor. “The old Alto K10 is being phased out but the Alto 800 will continue.” He added that in the last fourteen years since Alto’s launch2.6 million units have been sold, out of which four lakh units of the Alto K10 were sold in the last four years alone.
The fact that the Alto has had a great track record among the entry-level hatchbacks, and that the new K10 claims to be even more fuel efficient, along with being the world's cheapest automatic now, all this should be a driving force for the automatic Alto K10.
Meanwhile, detailing the enhancements in the next gen Alto K10, Ayukawa said that the Alto K10 is 15 percent more fuel efficient, delivering best in class 24.07kpl while being taller, wider and roomier than its predecessor.
“Alto K10 is the third Maruti Suzuki car where our suppliers and engineers have improved the fuel efficiency substantially. The auto gear shift with impressive fuel efficiency is another big technology advantage. The wider range of the Alto K10 comes with 6 variants including a CNG, and will strengthen Maruti Suzuki’s entry level range and get incremental numbers.”
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