The battle for the small car is getting hotter. Soon after the Tatas stunned the world with a Rs 1 lakh car, Nano, Bajaj announced a small car with Renault's support and then Hyundai stated its intention to come out with a car that could cost less than Rs 2 lakh and hit the road by 2011.
And now, TOI learns auto biggie Maruti-Suzuki too is ready with a hot recipe for a dish of a small car.
Maruti-Suzuki is tight-lipped, even in the denial mode, but a number of vendors who have been entrusted with the challenge of developing components for Suzuki's small car say the company's reticence is only evidence of the seriousness of its intent.
The little car could hit the road, they say, as early as the end of this year or early 2009.
From what TOI learns, the Suzuki car will come closest to rival Nano. It will sport a Suzuki 660cc engine - as against Nano's 623cc - and wear a tag of around Rs 1.5 lakh on road (that is, excluding insurance) - a little higher than Nano, which is expected to be Rs 1.25 lakh on road.
Suzuki, say several vendors, is confident of overcoming the price difference by virtue of its high brand equity in the auto mart.
When contacted, a Maruti spokesman in Delhi first said the company had no comments to offer. When asked for a written response, the spokesman wrote back saying the company has "no plans" for such a car.
The small car project, said vendors, is being mothered by Suzuki at its headquarters at Hamamatsu in Japan, although it will be eventually manufactured in India. A vendor said that Suzuki has codenamed the project "Under A" as the proposed car would be positioned below the A segment, which is driven by Maruti 800 at present.
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