Can Toyota & Honda dethrone Maruti Suzuki in small car segment?

Maruti is producing more than 11 models in the price band from 2.5 Lacs INR till 9 Lacs INR all of them between B & C+ segments. It provides varied opportunities to customers at every price slab of 40000 INR / designs / engine options. MUL also has the largest service network in the country coupled with strong brand image that was built in 30 yrs. Recently it achieved production levels of 10 lac cars per annum.

Toyota & Honda cater entirely to a different niche segment  ( Premium B & C).

very true,toughest product in all slots MARUTI has....

kaula suzuki + maruti = sanjays marketing aided by japanese R&D....

nothing beats a maruti 800 ( 1980s) even today ... kingsize vehicle ..for the bonds ..for the advisors ( japanese) wagonr for the tourist :: old maruti zen ..for the shooters :: swift :: for the rallyist ::sx4 , for the offroadesr tank gypsy king :: for the politician :: the old grand vitara .. for the classique :: kizashi ::

And finally for the warrior ( samurai :: gymny )

Dethrong Maruti in India is quite tough task,,,,,still after 20 years of launch of maruti 800 still it is selling in market,Maruti constitutes for 80% of car sale share in indian market,y people opt for maruti is becaz of the relibilty and after sales support-spares+ service....Swift was launched in india 4 years back still there is no discount scheme on it (even on year ends),what swift contributes in % to maruti rest all companies clubing all their models dont not contribute equal to it...

Regards

Sanjay koul

pune

Atleast for some years, does not look to be happening.

The reason is the wide range of cars, Maruti have. For all kinds of customers, may be fuel efficiency, elegant look, initial cost, Maruti have something to offer. It's network of service staions give confidence in the mind of people. Looking at this, do not feel that, Maruti will get affected with Toyota or Honda in near future.

Looking at today's market, I feel after Maruti, General Motor may come on second position, with success of Spark & Beat. Toyota & Honda appear far behind.

Hi Rajesh, I agree with you. Maruti has a strong brand image among the Indians and its will be really a challenge for other players to capture the market. Apart from that they know the minds of the Indian buyers and whom to target in India. So if at all Toyata & honda want to capture the market they should show some unique feature that would attract the buyers. 

No absolu

Maruti Brand was built over the last 25 years. Focussing on customer, they established dealerships as well as authorised service centers i.e netwirk.. It became a friendly neighbourhoos car- easy to acquire, easy to maintain and easy on wallet, plus good resale value.

If othersw can emulate and be available in Tier 2 and 3 cities esp service points then they only they might succeed.

Its not only the small car the initial cost, cost of running- i.e fuel cost, repair cost and the resale value- all these determine the success of a brand. Over the period of time the maruti brand was built up with focus on customers satisfaction. The network spread and the general availability of spares and ease of acceess to dealership/authorised service centers instilled confidence in the general public.

Yes if VW and Toyaota can spread their wings to the tier 2 & 3 cities then they also can.

The vast network of service and parts availability and the proven track record has made maruti the No 1. It would take another 5 years atleast and huge investments in developing dealership and service network for any new aspirent.

maruti has established itself with a robust service netwok which no other company can match.. also the strength of maruti lies in prving small cars at competitive price and quality. Though honda and toyta are biggies abroad, in India it is too difficult to dethrone maruti

ya am well aware of wat maruthi as a brand today is now..they have the best customer satisfactory mechanisms available..but if u look at the recent trends in the automotive indutry , the industry is bound to c investments worth 80,000 crore.in terms of new product development an existing factory upgradation an i think both honda an maruthi will have a tough time in coping with another player slowly but steadily entering the market.thats volkswagen , though they are currently not into the small car segment the second largest car manufacturer is planning an invasion of this segment. the recent developments in the company is proof of it..the factory upgradtion in chakan near pune and the company plans to launch a small segment car vey soon. They are also increasing there dealer chain really fast an exponentially so i believe both toyota an honda as well as maruthi need to asess this upcoming threat as well will being on the fast lane of competition in the automotive industry. 

The most strong point Maruti has its wide network and easy repair & spares availability. Maruti has been ruling Indian roads & customers since more than 25 years and to beat the rule of Maruti the challanging car has to come up with som really ir-resistable features.

I fully agree with Makrand, rather I would say Maruti cannot be beaten in the small car segment!!!

1. It is proved that beating Maruti on pricing is very very tough. The scale of economy matters here, apart from Maruti's conscious efforts on pricing. We all know how Honda's Jazz is priced.

2. It takes enormous efforts and years of time to build up the dealer network & service network. It is next to impossible for aby company except Hyundai to come even closer to Maruti.

No doubt, Toyota and Honda are a class by themselves, but to beat Maruti in small car segment, it takes at least a decade, if they have that patience!!!

Maruti Suzuki in other words say's "Public Car ", small car segment is most popular & comfortable in Indian market, maruti service & spares are more easily available any where in India, with local & authorized services provider, so not easy to capture the maruti india market for other.

Maruthi has some advantages like easily available spare parts; most of cars are cheaper when comparing other companies. Most important is, middle class people prefer maruthi.

Maruthi has some advantages like easily available spare parts; most of cars are cheaper when comparing other companies. Most important is, middle class people prefer maruthi.

Maruti is the best in small car segment.

No doubt Honda and Toyota's are of world class players however, Maruti is the market leader in small cars especially in india. I feel Maruti will be under tremendous pressure after knowing about their up coming competitors plans and should comeout with an alternative for overcoming such competitors... Thank you, Manish N

Cheers!!