Maruti Suzuki plans to roll out new variant of Dzire from Manesar plant

NEW DELHI: Domestic auto maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), is considering to roll out the new variant of its sedan Dzire from the disputed unit of Manesar.

In the same move, the car maker has started the trial production of its entry level sedan Dzire so that it can enjoy the excise duty benefits given on small cars in India. As per plans, the new Dzire will be exported to markets in Latin America, North Africa and the Middle East before its India launch early next year.

Presently, the 'smaller car' category is defined for the cars which are of less than four metres in length and having a engine capacity of up to 1200 cc for petrol and 1,500 cc for diesel and attracts the excise duty of 10 per cent. However, the existing Dzire is longer than four metres, hence did not qualify as a small car.

In order to target fleet operators and tour operators, the company is planning to retain the existing Dzire unlike Swift, where its had replaced the old model with a new version. The new Dzire will be based on the new Swift platform.

The ongoing standoff between the management and workers of the company has highly affected the company's plans to cut down on the waiting period, mainly for Swift.

The company has launched the new Swift in August this year and so far it has sold 90,000 units. The petrol variant has a waiting period of 4-5 months and for the diesel version it is 6-7 months.