Maruti To Launch All-New Small Car In 2008


Maruti Suzuki India Limited announced today its plans to launch an all-new car to be built in India. The car called the A-star will be showcased in concept form at the Auto Expo in Delhi in January next year.
The company plans to sell the A-star with a 1.0-litre petrol engine, which will be Euro-V compliant. The carmaker will be following Hyundai’s footsteps (which, makes the i10 in exclusively in India and sells it in Europe) and will manufacture the car in India at its Manesar plant, and will sell it in Europe and India. Production at the facility is being bumped up and the plant is expected to roll out 150,000 A-stars annualy along a similar number of Swifts and SX4s. The car will also be sold under the Nissan badgeing in certain markets and will be on sale by autumn of 2008.
The company refused to divulge details about the price and specifications but said that the car would be a size smaller than the Splash, which was launched internationally recently.

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