Debate: Is it End of the Road For Maruti Suzuki Dominance?

[350Z]

I own a 20 year old 800, and I am always treated as a fly in the ointment. Today's buyer is a wiser counsel. Until and unless its arrogance and tendency to take customer granted is corrected, Maruti will go on loosing its presence in the market.

This statement is true to an extent. And here's a thread related to the same: http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...kshops-least-bothered-about-maruti-800-a.html

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[racerdabba]

So, swapnil, u want to say that ur 800 spends half its life in workshops and Ur Indica is still strong. The Indica is a great car and it is greater on the highway. But if u care for the 800, its much much more reliable than the indica will ever be. That era indicas were very troublesome. And i still know for sure that if u take care of that 800 well, it wont fail u.Sadly the same cannot be said for ther marutis.

 

[350Z]

Even after i have two marutis, i hate them.

I used to think that you are very passionate about your Maruti 800. Any particular reason(s) for the hatred?

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[Swapnil]

So, swapnil, u want to say that ur 800 spends half its life in workshops and Ur Indica is still strong. The Indica is a great car and it is greater on the highway. But if u care for the 800, its much much more reliable than the indica will ever be. That era indicas were very troublesome. And i still know for sure that if u take care of that 800 well, it wont fail u.Sadly the same cannot be said for ther marutis.

1. I have an Indigo and not Indica.
2. The thread is whether Maruti Suzuki will lose its dominance in the Indian market.
3. My perception is derived from the experience I get with the 800. As far as Indigo is concerned, I don't even go to the TASS for servicing, as I know that Tata service is not reliable.
4. In 2011, when I visit a MASS for service, I am suggested for a used Wagon-R / Alto instead of neatly servicing my existing car. I do not expect it from a company which is known for its quality and after sales service network. Don't they have the personnel to repair an 800?
5. As I have said earlier, Maruti has been making cars since a time there was no competition. This is the main reason why they are in a dominant position today. If we had the likes of Santro or Indica in 1980s, it would have been a completely different story.
6. Even today, Maruti is dominant only in the small car segment, and because of the many options it has offered in the segment.
7. If Toyotas and Hondas come out with 2 more models based on their Liva and Brio platform, then what will be the position?
8. Today's buyer is a wiser counsel. If he is offered a used car instead of neatly serviced existing car, he is surely going to terminate the relation.

 

[Umang]

4. In 2011, when I visit a MASS for service, I am suggested for a used Wagon-R / Alto instead of neatly servicing my existing car. I do not expect it from a company which is known for its quality and after sales service network. Don't they have the personnel to repair an 800?

wow its shocking!! dont have maruti any respect left for their customers???

 

[Vishwas]

Well i think Maruti still has an Enduring approach in India, being the best seller especially with Alto, Swift/Dzire. The competitors have a long way to pull them down.

 

[basis]

From the safety aspect all maruti cars like hell.. only in India these are allowed to sell!

yes..I feel maruti is reaching the end very fast.

 

[jayadev]

yes..I feel maruti is reaching the end very fast.

you must be kidding,did you notice the price of Ertiga?

 

[350Z]

Maruti’s dominance might not end so soon in the market but there is a popular saying: “What goes up must come down.” This is applicable to everything. Recently even Mercedes has lost its position to Audi in India. Maruti will be a no exception.

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[S Class]

Maruti sells mostly 5L cars. Cross 8L & MS vanishes.
As people gradually upgrade to better cars, I doubt for how long MS will hold on especially when Hyundai is approaching fast.

Maruti’s dominance might not end so soon in the market but there is a popular saying: “What goes up must come down.” This is applicable to everything. Recently even Mercedes has lost its position to Audi in India. Maruti will be a no exception.

Drive Safe,
350Z

The reason for this is just the A4 & some Q range of UVs.
If you needs to see what true Merc is, nothing is good below E Class & even today, sales of E & S are more than A6/8 or BMW 5/7 series.

I have seen people opting for A4 just because it looks more or less the same as A6-8. They say why buy other car if I can get the look of 50L car in 30L ?

And I think selling more Audi cars should be worrisome for BMW & not Merc as it is mostly Audi Vs BMW.

 

[indiatraveller]

Maruti sells mostly 5L cars. Cross 8L & MS vanishes.
As people gradually upgrade to better cars, I doubt for how long MS will hold on especially when Hyundai is approaching fast.

Cross 8L & MS vanishes : AGREE
As people gradually upgrade to better cars, I doubt for how long MS will hold : DISAGREE

There is always going to be demand in the sub-5-lakh segment of cars. If there is 1 person upgrading from a Wagon R to Vento, there must be 10 other people buying Alto for their first car or upgrading from an Alto/ Spark/ Santro to a Swift/ Ritz/ Dzire. So as long as competition allows Maruti to dominate this segment, I see MSIL continuing to have at least 40%-50% volume share for reasonably long time.

Hyundai had a big opportunity to upset Alto with Eon, but messed up with the pricing and ended up cannibalizing lower variants of i10.

 

[vaibhav]

This car will improve market share of maruti . Ertiga will sell well for sure

 

[stenejohn]

As Currently both are performed well as we know.
But according to Suzuki performance I think Suzuki Will face losses in future.
In short Suzuki need to improve Quality with customer service.

Thank you.

 

[Vishwas]

As Currently both are performed well as we know.
But according to Suzuki performance I think Suzuki Will face losses in future.
In short Suzuki need to improve Quality with customer service.

Thank you.

They are giving better service backup in India. Better than the competitors.

 

[Prads]

I am facing alot of irritating issues with Maruthi thanks to one recent service for my Swift Petrol(48600km) before which everything was perfect,

My bill was 7500 odd

They destroyed the wiring on the battery terminal during service,as a result,car did not start next day but clutch brakes were fine

Car was jump started,they tried covering there mistake by saying problem could have been there before, The terminal was burning hot & destroying the insulation,when my silence was my answer,then they sent it somewhere & wiring cut paste job done,

i take the car home & next day again car does not start again,spare car given but this time leakage is pointed out my music system which they say is not there prob,so find my music system wiring is messed up thanks to them,that will be adding 4000 to my expense

I take the car & as i manage to get some speed i realize car pulls to the right(in-spite wheel alignment,etc was done) & clutch is hard & brakes are hard & have no affect(new brake pads had been installed & it was good the previous day),they say this hardness is regular,i was fuming & left.

I decided to rectify the wheel alignment issue outside,as i did not like the way things were going with the service center,today as i take the car to a reputed wheel center called Madhus on Double road Bangalore,they say my right rear tire is weak,so i told them to put in the spare,as they took out the spare i realized to my horror there was an old tire there where before giving for service there was a unused tire with markings & everything on it,i ask them to check the other tires & i realized 2 tires which do not belong to my car are there among the 5 as the dates on them dont match with car & remaining 3 tires.

So 7500 for the service on a car that just needed an oil change,i asked to check brake pads & they said its gone,but car had done 16000 km on the new ones & later when i checked they were in good condition & was unnecessary to change them,they screwed up the wheel alignment ,
switched an unused spare tire & a decent tire previously running on the car
Shorted the music system which will cost me 4000 to rewire
Oh & the second time my car did not start i got late for work & that created a loss of 20,000 odd to me as i realized prob at 5 pm & called Maruti & they came to collect the car along with spare car at 7:15 by which i was late for my work.

And this is the best rated Maruti service center in Bangalore including on other blogs,i had never faced problem with this service center at all,but the amount of blunder is shocking.

I have cancelled my long trip for tomorrow morning(Sunday) until i can meet the manager on Monday morning & ask them to give me the unused tire back & rectify things as i am totally annoyed that they messed up my well my maintained car.

So if this is the best rated center in Bangalore i think Maruti is in trouble!