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Maruti Alto 800 launch nearby, more details emerge

Hyundai Eon, Chevrolet Spark and Tata Nano have reason to believe that the road ahead is not easy. Reason: the Maruti Alto 800 launch is on October 16 and just like what the existing Maruti 800 did to the industry, the new car is also believed to sway the small car buying to its side. Expected to be priced somewhere under Rs 3 lakh, the new small car will be the remake of Maruti Alto. Featuring 796 cc petrol engine, the car is expected to have better fuel efficiency than the Maruti Alto F8D. As per the recent reports, the car will have an ARAI assured 22.74 kmpl efficiency that makes it a car that will beat the heat of rising petrol prices.

The only drawback about the new Alto 800 is that it will have only petrol and CNG avatar. But putting a diesel engine under the hood of such a small car seems to have been an uphill task for India’s largest car maker. Experts believe that the CNG variant of the Alto 800 will be an instant hit in metros and wherever the clean fuel is available but what about the low demand for petrol cars. On being asked about the prospects of the car, one of the automobile industry expert said that Maruti seems to have forgot the period when it had to suspend Maruti Alto production and the current phase when majority of Maruti cars sold are diesel. In such a case, pushing a petrol car will not be a great strategy.

Also, Tata has already tried the thing with Nano by offering a car under Rs 2 lakh with a mileage of over 25 kmpl. Tata still dreams of crossing the 10k per month sales figures. However, there were many more factors behind the not so overwhelming response to Nano, but the Alto 800 too lacks factors that will push it ahead and compel people to go for it rather than buying an entry level diesel car such as Tata Indica or Chevrolet Beat Diesel.