As part of its plan to upgrade all its models, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) will be bringing out two new versions of India’s highest selling hatchback, the Alto. One of these will be a stripped down variant of the car, intended to give direct competition to Tata’s Nano. The other will be an upmarket version of the Alto, which will have the Hyundai Santro and the Chevrolet Spark as competitors. Most of the company’s upgraded cars will be fitted with its latest KB series engines. Maruti invested a whopping Rs.1,200 for the development of KB series engines. By investing in the upgradation of existing models instead of developing new ones from scratch, the company will save considerably on the incremental costs of building new cars and platforms.
