Maruti Udyog narrows price gap between 800 and Alto

Reducing the gap between its bread and butter model Maruti 800 and compact car Alto, Maruti Udyog today slashed prices of the latter by Rs 3...

Reducing the gap between its bread and butter model Maruti 800 and compact car Alto, Maruti Udyog today slashed prices of the latter by Rs 35,000, and said it had ‘‘long term’’ plans for India’s cheapest car.

Maruti launched the non-ac version of Alto which has been priced at Rs 2.3 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) while Maruti 800 costs Rs 2.07 lakh, a difference of Rs 23,000 in the entry-level car and the premium small car.

The new variant had a provision for retro-fitment of air conditioner, a statement said. Officials said they had long-term (3-year) plans for Maruti 800. The narrowing down of prices of the two models has fuelled speculation on the future of Maruti 800.

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Sales of Alto went up by 135 per cent to 60,629 units in the last fiscal while its exports grew by robust 53 pc to 36,436 units during 2003-04 over 23,869 units during the previous year.

At present, Alto is available in three versions Alto-lx (Rs 2.65 lakh), Alto-lxi (Rs 2.85 lakh) and Alt0-vxi (3.66 lakh). The new version was aimed at expanding the entry-level car market.

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