Maruti Suzuki to launch 'Ignis' next month

The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India will launch its premium hatchback 'Ignis' in the second week of January targeting the millennial consumers. The new model will be sold through the company's Nexa premium outlets.

"The population of millennials has grown over the years in India. They are unique in their approach and consumption pattern. So far, nobody has designed a car for them. With the Ignis we are targeting them," Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Executive Director (Marketing and sales) R S Kalsi told reporters here.

The car will be available in 1.2 litre petrol- and 1.3 litre diesel-engine options. It will also offer automatic gearshift option on both fuel options. This will be the entry level car for the premium Nexa chain, which also sells the Baleno and S-Cross models of the company, he added.

0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">At present MSI has 197 Nexa outlets in about 115 cities in India. "By the end of the ongoing fiscal it will be around 250 outlets in 150 cities," Kalsi said. The Ignis will be produced at MSI's Gurugram plant and meant mainly for the domestic market. It would be exported to South Asia and South East Asia also, he added.

The car will be launched on January 13, while online bookings on the company's website will start in the first week of January. Initially the Ignis was planned to be launched this year but the company decided to postpone in order to meet demand for its Baleno and Vitara Brezza models.

When asked about the impact of demonetisation, Kalsi said it has had a temporary effect but trends are reversing again and "our factories are running on full capacity".