Even though Maruti has been busying itself with a bevy of new model launches, it has been occupied with rationalising its model line-up. Facing the axe are some of its slow sellers in a possible bid to free up capacity for its newer and better selling cars.

In recent months, the automaker has pulled the plug on three of its small hatchbacks – the Ritz, the Celerio diesel and the WagonR Stingray.

The Ritz has been on sale for a long time, having been introduced to our market in 2009. The car did find takers, but, all through its eight years, it never did reach the heights typical of most Marutis. The model was long rumoured to be facing the axe and now the automaker has followed through with it. Interestingly, Maruti also pulled the plug on the relatively new Celerio diesel, one of India’s most efficient diesel cars and the one that made a debut of the automaker’s indigenously developed two-cylinder diesel engine. The model was a slow seller, with a monthly average sale of only 418 units over the last calendar year; a far cry from the petrol model’s average monthly sales of 7,122 units over the same period.

The Stingray technically hasn’t been axed; given its low sales, Maruti has discontinued the brand name and is now simply offering the car as a new top trim of the standard WagonR.

Another model set to face the axe is the iconic Gypsy. With the Indian army now looking to Tata for its SUVs, the Gypsy doesn’t have any real takers. The model was a very low seller in the private market. Thus, with the virtually non-existent sales and the upcoming shift to more stringent safety and emission regulations, the Gypsy's days may be numbered.

Maruti will also start to sell the Ciaz via the premium Nexa retail chain. The car was launched prior to the creation of the Nexa dealerships and Maruti will use the upcoming facelift of the car to relocate it. The Ciaz has proven to be a very popular sedan in the segment, especially last year with the model seemingly pulling ahead of the Honda City in sales numbers over a number of months. The move to Nexa will see the Ciaz employ the new nomenclature and variant system.

In the coming months, Maruti has its hands full with launches such as the new Baleno RS – which will introduce Suzuki’s 1.0-litre Boosterjet turbo-petrol engine to India – and the next-gen Swift and Dzire. The automaker is also eyeing the launch of the facelifted S-Cross sometime later this year with the model expected to finally get a petrol variant with the update.

The discontinuation of some of the slow sellers will help Maruti focus more of its resources on the production of not only its upcoming models but also on its hot sellers such as the Baleno and the  Vitara Brezza.