Maruti to make D'Zire shorter and cheaper

With the recent hike in the excise duty by 2 percent, it will become a lot more difficult for you to buy and maintain a car across categories but what has come as a sign of relief is that the manufacturers too are taking actions to fight back this hike.

The 50 percent market holder, MSIL is planning to downsize their entry level sedan, the D'Zire to under 4 metres, which will help them avail lower excise benefits and provide a more competitive price range.

Maruti seems to be following the industry trend of downsizing vehicle size to make avail of lower excise duty. Tata Motors was perhaps the first one to do by reducing its Indigo sedan to make the Indigo CS. Mahindra too is doing the same with Logan sedan and the MPV Xylo.

Another factor for Maruti to make it focus on the reduction of the length is the fierce competition from Toyota Etios. It's tough job now for Maruti to sustain the cut-throat competition from players like the Toyota, Honda and Skoda. Even its recently launched luxury sedan, the Kizashi has to fight back hard to get a space in there.

The current model of Swift D'Zire carries a length of 4160mm and has an excise duty of 22%. If company reduces its length to less than 4 meters, the new Swift D'Zire will be able of qualify for a lesser excise duty segment of 11 percent. This way, the company can slash the D'Zire's price by up to Rs 40,000 in the Indian market.