Maruti Suzuki, India's largest car maker to discontinue the sales of Maruti 800 in 13 cities, said its Chairman R.C. Bhargava.

Maruti
Suzuki, India's largest
carmaker, has no plans to
upgrade its lowest- priced
Maruti 800 model to meet
Euro IV emissions
standards, Chairman R.C.
Bhargava said on Friday.
Bhargava said sales of the
model would be
discontinued in 13 cities
from April. Maruti is 54.2
percent owned by Japan's
Suzuki Motor Corp.
Maruti Suzuki India said it
will bring the curtains
down on its once bread-
and-butter car Maruti 800
from April. India's largest
carmaker, has no plans to
upgrade its lowest- priced
Maruti 800 model to meet
Euro IV emissions
standards, chairman R C
Bhargava said on Friday.
Maruti 800, made its
debut back in 1982.
Bhargava said sales of the
model would be
discontinued in 13 cities
from April.
The carmaker, whose
hatchback bouquet
includes M800, Alto,
WagonR, Estilo, A-Star,
Ritz and Swift, is now
looking to reduce the
number of its vehicle
platforms. This will mean
phasing out of some
products that don't meet
emission norms.
The cities where BSIV
norms will set in from
April 2010 are Delhi,
Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai,
Bangalore, Hyderabad,
Pune, Kanpur,
Ahmedabad, Surat and
Agra. Other cities will
come under BSIII norms,
making it possible for the
company to sell the cars.
However, these would
also come under BSIV
norms by around
2015-16, that would finally
mean phase-out of the
two models.
Companies ranging from
Toyota to Volkswagen to
Ford and Nissan are
gearing up to launch small
cars in India. Meanwhile,
homegrown auto major
Tata Motors has also
usurped the tag of entry-
level carmaker from
Maruti Suzuki by
launching the Nano,
priced significantly below
the M800.
Maruti had earlier phased
out one of its brands Zen.
Even as it launches more
and more new cars to
keep customers within its
fold by offering a wide
basket of products, the
company is also looking
to sharpen its edge by
making the Alto — its
most successful model —
even more price efficient.
Maruti is 54.2 percent
owned by Japan's Suzuki
Motor Corp.
[src: TOI]