The 2018 version of Ciaz, the ‘A3’ sedan from Maruti Suzuki, has notched up bookings of over 10,000 in the first month, India’s largest carmaker said.
This comes as a relief as the numbers had seen a drastic decline in the run-up to the launch of the new, 2018 model in August.
The new variant, priced at Rs 8.23 lakh to Rs 10.17 lakh, is more affordable than the outgoing variant and even comes with a Li-ion battery to help increase fuel efficiency.
The battery cannot be charged independently or used to power the engine by itself.
Instead, it is charged when the car is running, especially during braking, and sends power to the engine when extra power is needed, such as when accelerating, thus reducing fuel consumption.
The new variant claims a fuel economy of 21 km per liter for petrol and 28 kmpl for diesel.
Sales of the Ciaz had fallen to 1,579 in June and to 48 in July as customers put off purchases in anticipation of the upgrade.
It bounced back to 7,000 in August and 6,246 in September after the launch of the 2018 ‘Smart Hybrid’ version.
Ciaz and Honda City used to have comparable sales figures in the initial months. But the Maruti model got left behind over time, with sales falling to 3000-4000 per month range.
Despite the fluctuation, Ciaz has sold over 24,000 units in the last six months — an average of around 4,000 units per month, said Maruti Suzuki today. A total of 2.3 lakh Ciaz’s have been sold since launch.