Maruti Suzuki Swift, the brand that has transformed the Indian car landscape, turns five tomorrow. The Maruti Swift was launched in India on May 25, 2005. The car seemed destined to succeed from the day it was born. Nearly 16,000 customers had placed advance orders for the Maruti Swift even before it was unveiled and its price made public. It won a bagful of awards that year, including all the car-of-the-year awards in India.
The international editions of Maruti Swift similarly won awards in markets across the world. In these five years, more than 4.5 lakh Maruti Swift cars have been sold in India.
In the early days of the brand, nearly 5,000 Maruti Swift cars were produced every month; an ambitious number for a car in that segment. In these five years, the Company has had to regularly scale up capacity and production to meet unmet demand for brand Swift.
Today, driven by customer demand, Maruti Suzuki manufactures over 12,000 Swift cars in a month (including the diesel versions).
Maruti Swift: New Design Philosophy
The Swift is a landmark model for many reasons. As Suzuki Motor Corporation’s first World Strategic Model, it ushered in the new design philosophy of the Japanese small car giant. Bold, aggressive, distinctly European, sporty and curvy, it was unlike anything that Suzuki had offered until then. When Maruti Suzuki launched the Swift in India, it was instantly appreciated by Indian customers.
The same sporty and dynamic design philosophy is evident in the subsequent four World Strategic Models – Grand Vitara, SX4, Ritz and A-star – that Maruti Suzuki has launched since then.
Maruti Suzuki’s Managing Executive Officer (Marketing and Sales), Mayank Pareek said, “The Swift has captured the imagination of Gen-next. It symbolises Maruti Suzuki’s efforts to be in step with a changing India. Its sporty styling and peppy performance made it an instant hit, and these attributes remain unsurpassed even today.”
Maruti Swift: The Indian story
The Swift is also special because this was the first time when Maruti Suzuki engineers worked in collaboration with Suzuki engineers in Japan to design and develop this car. Thus, the Swift launched in India was a global model, sensitive to requirements of Indian customers.
The knowledge and exposure gained with the Swift enhanced the R & D capability of Maruti Suzuki, and enabled the Company to launch more India-sensitive models and face lifts in these last five years.
Maruti Swift: Defining a New Segment
Five years ago, it was hard to conceive that customers of small cars in India would be willing to pay a premium for a small car. The Swift successfully challenged that perception and defined what is now popularly known as the premium A2 segment of the Indian car industry.
Maruti Swift and the New India:
Part of the reason for Swift’s success is that its journey coincided with a transforming India. In the last five years, customers have become more assertive, aware and demanding. They seek the best the world has to offer, while retaining ‘Indian’ values of reliability, fuel efficiency and low cost of ownership. The Swift has successfully balanced these demands.
The Maruti Swift Diesel:
Brand Swift’s defining role is extended to the diesel segment as well. Launched in January 2007, it was instantly lapped up by customers who sought refinement and performance alongside the fuel economy of diesel. With the DDiS engine (Europe’s Engine of the Year 2005), the Swift Diesel marked Maruti Suzuki’s re-entry into the diesel car market.
The Cult car:
Over the years, customers have conferred an iconic status to brand Swift. Little wonder that the Swift Life online Community is fast gaining popularity. The passionate Swift customers engage among themselves and with their favourite brand online and offline.
Maruti Swift and World Record:
As a part of Swift’s birthday celebrations and to commemorate the landmark, on Sunday, May 30, Maruti Suzuki will attempt to set a new World Record by bringing together the largest gathering of Swift cars in three cities – Delhi NCR at Gurgaon, Mumbai and Sriperumbudur at Chennai – simultaneously. This will be a first-of-its kind attempt in India and of its size anywhere in the world.
A snapshot of Maruti Swift's sterling performance:
1st One lakh units in under 21 months
2nd One lakh units in under 13 months, fastest 2 lakh units sales among all cars
3rd One lakh units in under 11 months, fastest 3 lakh units sales among all cars
4th One lakh units in under 11 months
Only car in A2 + segment to achieve over 1 lakh unit sales per year consecutively for last two years.
As per the ARAI certified fuel efficiency, the Swift Diesel with its compact 1.3 litre DDiS engine delivers 21 kmpl, while the Swift Petrol with next generation K Series 1.2 litre engine has a fuel efficiency of 17.94 kmpl.
Source: Maruti Suzuki India
