India's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. is targeting to sell 3 lakh units of vehicles equipped with different automatic transmission technologies by 2020.
The company currently sells around 94,000 units of vehicles with automated gear shift, automatic and continuously variable transmission per annum. It's counting on the more affordable AGS technology to drive sales of cars with automatic transmission.
“Our mission is to double AGS contribution from the current levels of 94,000 units to around 1.5 lakh units by end of FY 17-18 and achieve the 3 lakh mark by 2020,” a company spokesperson said.
The company currently offers the AGS technology in Alto K10, Wagon R, Celerio, Ignis and Dzire car models. CVT comes in the Baleno, while AT transmission comes in Ciaz and Ertiga. Going ahead, the company looks to bring in AGS technology in models up to Dzire and AT (automatic) and CVT in models beyond Baleno.
“Our vision is to democratise the two pedal technology by making them affordable and relevant for customers. Depending upon acceptability of the technology in a particular segment, we bring a suitable option,” the spokesperson said.
Also Read: Maruti Suzuki Unveils New DZire Sedan Starting At Rs 5.45 Lakh
The company is also in the process of hiking production capacity of automatic transmissions and has also gone in for localisation of various parts in order to make the variants affordable.
"Awareness is still a challenge... With enhanced awareness we expect more first-time buyers and rural penetration," the spokesperson said.
The sale of automatic variants across the company's product portfolio has risen steadily in the recent years. In 2013-14, the company had just sold 900 automatic units.
In 2014-15, the figure rose to 32,426 units, while it surged to 56,968 units in 2015-16. In the last fiscal, the company sold a total of 94,736 units comprising AGS, CVT and AT technologies. Overall, the company with over 47 percent market share in the domestic passenger vehicle market, plans to sell a total of 20 lakh units annually by 2020.
Also Read: ITC Posts Highest Profit Growth In 5 Years
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
