Maruti has been seeing some very phenomenal numbers. Its share price has nearly tripled in the last three years. Bloomberg TV India caught up with Kenichi Ayukawa, MD & CEO of Maruti Suzuki India, to gain an insight about the company’s success story.

What is really working for Maruti Suzuki which is not really seen for other manufacturers that are struggling and not seeing growth coming in? What’s really driving the sales for Maruti Suzuki?

In the automobile business, important factors are product network, sales network and also people who are involved in the business. It takes three-four years’ time to develop a new product. During that process, our people look at the market and the customers and try to figure out the product customers are expecting. This year, we are lining up more products to be launched in the market. It is a good opportunity for us as the other brands are not having any new product to launch.

How do you see the whole plan to get into the premium space which is traditionally not your bread and butter space? What is the outlook and how has the response been so far for S-Cross and Nexa dealership?

In case of S-Cross and Nexa..it has been just a month. It is very difficult to tell whether they are successful or not. It takes at least six months or one year.

The feedback is that people think that it is on the higher side of pricing. Is it really going down well with the customers?

As per the information which I have received, the customers who are visiting our showroom are very happy to see it.

Is the LCV plan on track? Are you going to launch light commercial vehicles this year as earlier envisaged?

In the second half of this year we are planning and I think this is also a new challenge. We have some time for preparation. Also, Nexa and LCVs are totally different segments. First we will start in a small way and gradually extend it and start a new business network. This is totally a new challenge for us. We have to carefully implement the project. I know that the LCV market is seeing a bit of slowdown. It is a tough time but we have to start it.

Will you meet the target which you have set for yourself this financial year?

We are targeting to reach the two- digits gross because we are implementing the new model, expanding to new channels, etc. Right now, I think, we are on the way to meet our expectations.

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