India’s largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki is planning to showcase new products at the Indian Auto Expo 2012 to be held in January. The new products may include mini cars powered by 660cc engines also known as ‘kei’ cars in Japan and a new sports utility vehicle (SUV).
The company has witnessed a slump of 7 percent in its market share in the fiscal year 2011-2012. The slump has been attributed by the company to the labor problems at one of its manufacturing plants that produces the Maruti Suzuki Swift hatchback.
The two ‘kei’ cars to be showcased are the MR Wagon and the Palette. Both cars are currently sold by Suzuki in Japan. Further, the company stated that the cars are not as low priced as the Tata Nano in spite of being powered by small 660cc engines. Moreover, with these cars the company intends to study the consumer feedback and accordingly design their future strategy.