Maruti’s Nexa – enhancing customer

experience beyond buying

Arun Kumar Kaushik and Geetha Mohan

EXA is for a well-traveled consumer who is digitally savvy, updated and seeks a Arun Kumar Kaushik is

“N world-class experience while buying a car. After research, we found that Maruti’s
popular retail channel is not equipped for it and hence a separate channel was
based at the Department of
Marketing, Indian Institute
of Management, Amritsar,
needed. The biggest problem in designing Nexa was that it could not just be better than an
India. Geetha Mohan is
existing model. It had to be completely different something that was never thought and
based at the Department of
done before.” Elvis Sequeira, COO, Hakuhodo, India. Marketing, Indian Institute
Dr Karthika, mother of Santhosh (a young medical college student), wanted to gift her son a of Management,
new sedan [1]. She took him to a Maruti dealer nearby to choose a model of his preference. Kozhikode, India.
He turned down her proposal, making it clear that he did not want an old and hackneyed
model, that too from a showroom which was crowded, noisy and “outdated.” Disappointed
as they drove back home, Santhosh noticed another Maruti showroom (seemed to have
been newly opened) with “Nexa” engraved on its billboards. This showroom, unlike the one
they visited, had plush interiors, swanky cars and seemed to have a great ambiance. They
stopped by; both mother and son wanted to check out such a stylish outlet. Santhosh was
blown away by the ambiance and the fleet of swanky cars; the “Baleno” model caught his
attention, and he asked his mother to buy him that, to which his mother gleefully obliged.
Now, had it not been for the “Nexa experience,” Maruti would have forgone a young
(possibly among many others), modern and upwardly mobile customer. However, what
makes Nexa appeal to this upwardly mobile and elite segment of customers, as was evident
from the scenario above? Let us explore to find “Nexa’s magic.”
Toward the end of December 2018, India’s leading passenger vehicle maker, Maruti Suzuki
India Limited (MSIL, commonly called Maruti), in a bid to clear its old inventory, offered its
customers significant discounts and benefits through its premium automotive retail sales
channel – Nexa [2]. While making space for newer models in 2019, the company tried to
cash in on this channel to attract customers in “bulk.” The rationale behind introducing Nexa
was to redefine the “automobile purchase experience” in India, which would go beyond
“just” selling cars; obviously, this exercise was done after thoroughly studying the Indian
customers’ habits, along with their buying behavior and patterns. Their findings revealed
that first-time car buyers in India were getting younger and more aspirational than ever
before. Their average age dipped from 30–35 years to 20–25 years over the past decade,
according to Rakesh Srivastava, SVP, Hyundai Motor Limited (The Economic Times, 2016).
“Being overly price-sensitive and happy with no-frill cars, customers were value seekers,
Disclaimer. This case is
discerning about design and features,” said Sandeep Pande, director, Nielsen India. “The intended to be used as the
propensity among young, first-time buyers to stretch and spend more and buy a compact basis for class discussion
rather than to illustrate either
SUV rose,” said Rakesh Batra, partner, Ernst & Young India. According to a study on car effective or ineffective handling
of a management situation. The
segmentation conducted by TNS, a renowned market research firm, car buyers in India case was compiled from
could be segmented into the following six categories: published sources.

DOI 10.1108/TCJ-03-2019-0026 VOL. 16 NO. 4 2020, pp. 497-512, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1544-9106 j THE CASE JOURNAL j PAGE 497
 1. daring dynamism – seeking an adrenaline rush;
2. stability – seeking reassurance, appreciation;

3. prestige – seeking admiration and exclusivity;

4. prudence – seeking control;

5. belonging – seeking positivity and a sense of being a provider; and

6. liberation – seeking excitement (Economic Times, 2016).

All these findings from various research-based studies led to Maruti’s decision to increase
investment in Nexa. In January 2017, MSIL’s 200th showroom was launched in a metro city
of India with the Nexa experience, expanding its reach thereby to 121 cities, selling over
185,000 vehicles since its launch [3]. What factors led Maruti to launch a separate sales
channel? In what ways, did Nexa appeal to Indian customers? Most importantly, how did it
address the need for changing trends within the automobile sector? Given that Maruti had
over 200 branches across the country, how would the Nexa experience beat increased
competition? Would Maruti be able to sustain premium channels with the Nexa experience
in the long run?

Indian automobile industry

Recent statistics (IBEF, 2018) revealed that the Indian automobile industry was the 4th
largest global automobile manufacturer, with sales increasing by 9.5% year-on-year to 4.02
million units in 2017 alone (excluding two-wheelers). Automobile production in India
increased at a CAGR of 7.08% between FY13-18 with 29.07 million vehicles produced in
FY18 itself (BEF, 2018). Going back in time, in 1898, during the pre-independence era,
India’s first car was launched; domestic players like Hindustan Motors and Premier Padmini
dominated the automotive market for several years. However, restrictive government
policies in the automobile manufacturing sector made it difficult for foreign companies to
enter the Indian market. Nevertheless, with the economic liberalization of 1991, the Indian
automotive industry regulations were relaxed, making way for global players such as
General Motors and Hyundai.
In the financial year 2017–2018 (Shah, 2018), the Indian Automobile Industry witnessed
history being created, with car sales over 3.28 million units. The MSIL brand (i.e. Maruti) has
been continuing its dominance in the Indian subcontinent, selling over 1.64 million vehicles
in 2017–2018, which effectively translates to about half of the total market share (Exhibit 1).
Maruti also exported 0.137 million units in May 2017 as against 0.123 million units in May
2016 (India Infoline News Service, 2017). Hyundai Motor, India (the subsidiary of Hyundai
from Korea), also grew 5%, selling over 0.536 million units in India, and exporting over 0.153
million units, having a market share of 16.31%.
Other Indian automakers (e.g. Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors) also witnessed a
stupendous rise in their respective market shares; while Mahindra sold about 0.248 million
units, capturing a market share of just over 7.57%, Tata Motors’ new product launches
including that of Tigor and Neon proved to be a game changer of sorts, with sales figures of
the “Tiago” model alone hitting an all-time high. Tata became the fourth largest Indian
automaker, overtaking “Honda, India” selling more than 210,200 cars, with a market share
of 6.39% (Exhibit 2). One must note herein that for Mahindra & Mahindra, the year (i.e. 2018)
was for consolidation, without any new launches by the company; despite this, it was the
third in terms of units produced in the Indian automobile market in 2017–2018 (refer to
Exhibit 2).
On the other hand, Japanese automakers in India including Honda and Toyota Kirloskar
have been witnessing a decline in sales for the past few months. Nevertheless, Honda
India, with 5.17% market share, finished the year 2018–2019 on a high note selling about

PAGE 498 j THE CASE JOURNAL j VOL. 16 NO. 4 2020

170,026 units. Toyota Kirloskar sold about 140,645 units previous year, and despite a
couple of months of average sales, its market share was expected to be booming as well
with the launch of the new Toyota Yaris model, which would take on the likes of Ciaz from
Maruti Suzuki, Honda City and Hyundai Verna. Although the French automaker giant
Renault’s sales in India dropped by a huge margin (i.e. 25%), its sales’ figures in terms of
units sold were impressive. Renault sold 140,645 units, more than Nissan (102,222 units)
and Ford (90,061 units).
These passenger vehicles were further divided into nine sub-segments (A1 to A6, B1, B2
and SUV), based on the length of the vehicle by the Society of Indian Automobile
Manufacturers (SIAM) (Exhibit 3). The Indian government and SIAM jointly created an
Automotive Mission Plan 2016–2026, aiming to generate up to $300bn in annual revenue for
this sector by 2026, creating 65 million jobs and contributing around 12% to the country’s
GDP (Economic Times, 2018).

Maruti Suzuki India ltd

Maruti, formerly known as Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL), entered into a joint-venture
agreement with Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan in 1981 forming the brand “Maruti
Suzuki India Ltd.” Suzuki Motor Corporation agreed to this joint venture because of its
technological expertise in combining power and performance into a small, lightweight and
fuel-efficient engine. The brand “Maruti-Suzuki” in amalgamation, became operational from
1983 (i.e. two years post-forming the JV). It launched its first model Maruti 800, which
brought an experience of the modern car to Indian customers against Fiat’s Premier
Padmini model and Hindustan Motor’s Ambassador. It was pioneered as “people’s car,” as
its target customers were the Indian middle-class. Maruti 800 reigned the middle-class
Indians’ hearts and homes for decades. It is interesting to note that Maruti-Suzuki was the
first to introduce contemporary sedan (i.e. Maruti 1000) way back in 1989 [4]. From 1983 to
about 2004, Maruti 800 reigned supreme although the company introduced several other
notable models in the market such as Zen, Esteem and Omni.; in fact, it also had introduced
a new version of the 800 model. The next model, which tasted similar success to that of the
800 model, was Alto (in about 2004), followed recently by Swift, a five-door hatchback.
Maruti had been launching new models almost every year under various segments (i.e.
sedans/hatchbacks, etc.) under various stages. The first stage was from 1983 to 1993,
wherein the company launched all “affordable” cars. The second stage was from 1993 to
2003, in which Maruti offered multiple solutions to its customers (the base of which was
prepared by then) ranging from cars to insurance to accessories under one roof. In the third
stage (i.e. 2003 onwards), Maruti launched new brands such as Grand Vitara, Swift, Dzire,
A-star, Zen Estilo and many more. In addition, they relaunched a few like Alto and Zen
under an affordable category, and Baleno in the premium segment (Exhibit 4).

Shift in market trends

As of 2018, every second passenger car below the price bracket of `1m sold in India was
manufactured by Maruti [5]. As its commencement, the company was identified as a
manufacturer of affordable cars; this certainly helped Maruti become the undisputed leader
in the small and medium car segment for decades. However, with increasing prosperity,
consumers’ preference shifted toward mid-sized premium sedans and utility vehicles of
higher range – from `1m to `1.5–2.5m. With plenty of options available in terms of car
models from different brands, consumers started seeking premium experience not only for
products but also for the process involved in purchasing them. Meanwhile, there was an
increasing number of young car buyers who considered various features such as vehicle
performance, cost of maintenance and financing options while purchasing a car. Further,
the market share of small cars such as Maruti’s once best sellers – Alto and Wagon R – was
also declining (Madhavan, 2015).

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 Besides, mandatory safety norms like the anti-lock braking system, which was enforced
from 2018, made it difficult for Maruti to sustain manufacturing of relatively low-priced cars,
which, thus far, was the unique selling proposition for the company. According to
Information Handling Services (IHS) Markit (2018), sales of passenger vehicles in India
increased by 27%, from 2.6 million in 2011–2012 to 3.3 million in 2017–2018; in contrast,
sales of hatchback including entry-level cars and premium small cars dipped from
1,358,000 to 1,352,000 within the same period (Mohile, 2018). Thus, given the declining
demand, sustaining on small and economical cars alone became difficult for car
manufacturers like Maruti. As a result, car manufacturers across the world started
repositioning their small cars under the premium segment of the compact car market, to
entice both first-time buyers and customers looking to upgrade; Maruti was no exception.
The going, therefore, got tougher for Maruti; its niche playing field, that of the middle-class
Indian, seemed to be getting lost; under its premium segment range, it was facing stiff
competition from global automakers like Mercedes and BMW, who were reigning in the
luxury car segment. On the other hand, automakers such as Honda and Toyota were also
jostling for space with Maruti by pushing their way through the small car market segment,
whereby they added the “premium” tag to lure the young Indian populous. All these
dynamics at multiple levels compelled automakers to focus not only on their products (i.e.
cars), but also to offer a personalized and relevant customer experience during their
purchase. According to a report “Future of Automotive Retail” published by Ernst & Young
(2015), “integrated customer experience is key to building loyalty, retention, and
consequently, higher profit margins in sales and after-sales.” It went on to add “the
transformation of a customer to a brand advocate, requires that trusted relationships be
built by injecting trust-building attributes into every customer interaction (Ernst & Young,
2015).” As regards the “evolution” of Maruti, although the segment of above `1m priced
cars comprised only 3% of their total sales, they began to nurture it, wanting to increase its
sales under this segment (Ernst & Young, 2015).

Need for Nexa

Maruti tried to get into the premium segment with cars such as Grand Vitara in 2007,
followed by Kizashi in 2011, but failed to make an impression (Wankar, 2015). Primarily
being perceived as the maker of “common man’s affordable car,” which offered maximum
value for money, its “brand positioning” was set; thus, breaking that jinx and re-positioning
itself within the premium brand to attract the premium segment of the Indian populous was
indeed a tough ask. However, Maruti in its long-term planning was determined to
consolidate its position in the premium segment too. Post several brainstorming sessions
within the top leadership and strategic brass, it decided to come up with an initiative of
investing in the premium retail channel, introducing the “Nexa experience,” attempting
thereby to change the consumers’ perception of being a “not-so-premium automaker.”
Further, staying relevant based only on the product did not seem sufficient, especially in an
age where competition is cut-throat; it had to focus on the place (distribution) in which their
products were being sold. The “Nexa experience” was introduced in a few retail outlets as a
pilot phase, aiming to convey to its “niche” as well the larger market that Maruti was a brand
that cared for its consumers not only while designing and manufacturing its products but
also on how they were presented before their consumers in a retail outlet. It might be noted
here that owing to cost constraints, most small and mid-sized car manufacturers could not
afford to look beyond the product; however, Maruti was again the differentiator through its
Nexa experience (The Hindu, 2017). Drilling further into the origins of the Nexa experience,
it may be noted that Maruti had realized long back that it had to bring about a paradigm
shift in doing business. Way back in 2003, Maruti, through market research, realized that the
market trends of buying cars were changing, with people focusing more on a “premium
experience,” as they had an increased disposable income; thus, people began looking

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beyond just the “product” for touches of a “premium personal experience.” As all categories
of cars (i.e. affordable and premium) largely were sold under one roof, it was very difficult
for automakers and their salesmen to give personalized attention to a “premium customer.”
Furthermore, India being the world’s largest youth population within the age bracket of 35
(The Economic Times, 2014), they tended to have a fascination for things jazzy and fancy. A
car was no more just a “utility,” it was intended for making a statement, whereby premium
and feature-driven cars were making inroads. Market researches revealed that when
customers visited a car store, they missed “hospitality”; most salesmen tended to focus
more on pitching a model, its features, sale schemes, offers, etc. but were not able to give
the customer a “hospitable experience,” which for instance Mercedes and luxury
automakers were able to give.
To grow in the premium car segment, Maruti needed to work more on its distribution channels
apart from improving the product, price offerings and promotional activities. Hence, the
company started working on its product and designed features to make the mid-sized cars
more stylish, comfortable, sleek and not just fuel-efficient. Further, it was noted that existing
distribution channels were not equipped to handle this set of premium customers. Thus, it
became crucial for Maruti to create the right image in the “new buyers” mind. Powerful product
portfolios did not suffice any longer for luring customers; the entire “buying experience” had to
be enhanced. The “Nexa experience” comprised of the third stage in Maruti’s evolution,
whereby it began to offer a completely different purchasing experience to premium car
customers. This move was a game changer of sorts as no one else had ever tried to build a
retail network of this size and scale in India, leaving a few global players who already were
luxury automakers, like “Infinity” of Nissan motors and “Lexus” of Toyota. Nissan’s premium
brand Infiniti for instance sold 230,000 vehicles in 2016 (Reuters, 2017).

Nexa retail store: creating a premium experience

On July 23, 2015, Maruti launched Nexa showrooms in different parts of India, as an exclusive
upscale dealership to retail premium vehicles with the primary objective of giving it the much-
needed premium push through its exclusivity and services [6]. With this, Maruti started a new
journey: offering consumers a “buying experience.” The country’s largest auto company was
likely to have 30 Nexa showrooms operational by the launch of S-Cross, their premium
crossover vehicle, priced around `1m. They had also planned to come up with 100 Nexa
showrooms in the next six to eight months. As an example of its push for the “Nexa experience,”
its Baleno model, a hatchback, was included in its premium segment cars although technically
this model did not quite fit the premium segment, as their body length was less than 4,301 mm
in comparison with 4,701 to 5,000 mm for cars in the premium segment (Exhibit 4).

Ambient and design factors

Soothing lights and music have proven to enhance consumer behavior. Thus, in its Nexa
experience, Maruti introduced well-designed lighting systems, along with soothing music
playing in the background, adding an immersive designer experience to its consumers.
Other notable makeovers in the Nexa experience included several store styling elements
involving highly technical and artistic elements, such as texture, mannequins, fixture,
graphics, signage and so on. Additionally, even the tables and other tangibles were kept in
style; Nexa showrooms were set in monochrome black and white to increase the visual
display experience by enhancing the vehicles displayed.

Social factors
A retailer’s task had moved beyond merely training employees to follow rigid store rules or
policies. Strong merchandise skills, merchandise sense and skills to accurately read

VOL. 16 NO. 4 2020 j THE CASE JOURNAL j PAGE 501

 customers and win them over had become essential. Employee’s politeness, courtesy,
engagement in friendly conversation, interpretation of a customer’s needs and their ability to
interact in a congenial manner determined the shopping experience within a store. Sales
representatives at Nexa were trained on different service aspects such as designing of the
sitting area, welcoming customers on their arrival, serving them welcome drinks, asking for
their requirements, to finally presenting the car. The relationship managers were also
trained at how they would begin their discussions, offering a private space regarding
financial matters. All staff members at Nexa were dressed based according to their ranks.
Although the theme of their dress was the same, there was a slight difference in the shades.
Customers enjoyed great value in their hospitality, which was missing earlier. Nexa thus
attempted to create a “wow” factor in the car purchase experience of the new age
consumer. Additionally, to define an elite and unique experience, Nexa adopted a new
strategy under its premium segment cars, which were to be sold under the Nexa umbrella
with an “S” logo, denoting Suzuki. Nexa also offered “MyNEXA Concierge” airport display
and lounge for customers and music concerts on weekends (Raj, 2017) where they could
also meet fellow Nexa customers.

Omni-channel experience
Consumers for mid-sized cars mostly researched online and wanted seamless integration
from where they left their digital search to real experience in the physical store. Hence,
Omni-channel experience was very important. Omni-channel retailing is an integrated
approach providing shoppers a unified experience across both online and offline channels.
All the relationship managers at Nexa showrooms were equipped with iPads to elaborate
specific features of a model per se. Nexa created an exclusive website and even an app for
smartphones so that customers could avail all kinds of information and services at their
fingertips. For instance, converted customers (i.e. those who had bought a car from Nexa
showrooms) were offered a Nexa owner’s app to maintain a service history, emergency
support, event updates, bookings and managing service requests.

Dealers
When Maruti initiated this effort, they wanted to demarcate Nexa from other outlets without
cannibalizing its existing small car market, and disturbing the existing dealer-brand
relationship. Hence, they offered dealership to those who had some experience of selling
luxury cars and dealing with premium customers. Selecting the Nexa dealership from its
available dealers was considered to be a sensible move by analysts (Muralidhar, 2018). To
smoothen the process and make it more transparent, only a hundred dealers were selected.
Further, to assuage the feelings of existing dealers who were not awarded Nexa dealership,
a commission mechanism was evolved. In 2015, regular dealers were instructed to book
Baleno, Maruti’s next launch at their regular 1682 outlets; however, the deliveries were
being done only from Nexa dealers. If any consumer went to Arena (Maruti outlet) to buy
cars available at Nexa, they were escorted to the nearest Nexa dealer with the least
inconvenience. In return, these regular (non-Nexa) dealers got `15,000 ($207.71) [7] for
each booking. If we were to compare this to the “hub-and-spoke model,” Nexa was the hub,
while its connections with regular dealers were arranged like a spoke of wheel, which were
used to cater to all prospective customers of Maruti’s new models like Baleno. Although
owing to high initial set-up cost, Nexa dealers were offered a margin of over 6%, as against
4%–5% in the case of regular dealers.
As of 2016, to avail Nexa dealership with Maruti, one had to invest about `20m (US$0.28m).
The dealer had to bear the infrastructure cost, while Maruti paid them a sales margin of up
to 6% for each vehicle sold. However, this investment in Nexa reduced over time, once the
idea took off and spread. It is imperative to note here that although the initial investment on
Nexa was done by the dealers, they had to follow Maruti’s specifications on infrastructural

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design, space and look of the store. Maruti also helped these dealers in training relationship
managers.
Owing to the huge market size of the automobile industry in India, Maruti faced competition
from world-class rivals such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. But its immediate rivals in
the premium space were Honda, Hyundai and Toyota. Maruti’s competitive advantage had
been its dealership network. The company assigned a new team to manage this channel,
headed by Partho Banerjee, Maruti’s new Vice President for Sales and Dealer Network,
supported by two zonal heads and eight regional heads. Banerjee, in turn, reported to R. S.
Kalsi, Executive Director of Marketing and Sales, to ensure that there was no conflict
between Maruti dealers and Nexa dealers.

Marketing communication of Nexa

In total, 51% of customers who bought from Nexa showrooms were buying Maruti products
for the first time (Economic times, 2016). To ensure that people did not confuse Nexa with a
new model, the exterior part of showrooms was used in teasers of its advertisements. For
the first time in an Indian scenario, a brand was promoting its retail network via
advertisements. Maruti created a lot of hype in the market for the launch of Nexa, as one of
its kind modern retail channels. The first advertising campaign for Nexa was designed by
Hakuhodo Percept, an entertainment, media and communications company. In August
2015, Maruti released its first advertisement intending to develop a connection with the new
generation customer and establishing itself as a premium brand. The campaign comprised
of a few TV commercials, in which the first was a teaser, concealing the reality of Nexa. The
ambiguous ad created curiosity and broke the clutter; words like “feeling,” “joyous,”
“amazing,” “pure,” “indulgence” and “exclusive” in the advertisement, combined with
attractive visuals and fast-moving light, addressed an upscale and premium positioning
and retail/store image. Most people thought Nexa was the next car model and could not
guess it to be a retail outlet. It marketed how customers cared for technologically advanced
innovations, seamless digital connect and high-quality service.
The next campaign had a dual objective, first to showcase Nexa in detail to end the
suspense created by the first campaign, and second to use it as a pre-launch to its
hatchback model Baleno. Nexa ads were followed by the launch of another sports utility
vehicle S-Cross which had a different look and style from Maruti’s existing range.

Initial growth
Nexa did not succeed initially, as S-Cross could not gain enough traction owing to its higher
price range. However, after its initial slump, there was no looking back. Later launches of
models like Ciaz, Baleno and Ignis were successful, and their footprints spread rapidly. In
2016, the Nexa network had grown to 150 showrooms in 94 Indian cities with 0.1 million cars
being sold. By September 2017, the number of showrooms opened went up to 280 (auto.
economictimes.2017a). Maruti was confident that the Nexa factor would at least contribute
up to 15% of its sales by 2020 (Bhargava, 2016). However, most Nexa showrooms did not
have their service centers; all the cars sold at Nexa showrooms were serviced in regular
Maruti service centers, which meant that the customers were not getting the promised
premium after-sale care. Therefore, Maruti started working on next service to address that
need of the customers.
Maruti Suzuki sold 270,651 vehicles through its Nexa outlets within the first 10 months of
2017–2018. Thus, Nexa soon emerged as the third-largest selling retail network in the local
passenger vehicle market in less than three years of launch, trailing Maruti’s regular sales
channel (1,088,998 units) and rival Hyundai Motor India’s distribution network (443,727
units) in terms of volumes till January 2018. Besides this, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and
Tata Motors sold about 199,968 units and 167,208 units in 2017–2018, maintaining 4th and

VOL. 16 NO. 4 2020 j THE CASE JOURNAL j PAGE 503

 5th positions, respectively (Mukherjee, 2018). The company had set a target of selling 2
million cars by 2020, expecting Nexa and its premium cars help achieve that target. The
company also planned to launch 15 new premium car models in the next five years under
Nexa showrooms.

Nexa service – retail environment

The first service center with the Nexa experience was opened in Gurugram, Haryana. As of
July 2017, there were 250 dedicated service outlets for Nexa. Additionally, 60–70 more
outlets were planned within that fiscal year, taking the number up to 300þ outlets in
2019–2020 (The Times of India, 2017). The service could either be booked online or through
the app. On entering a service outlet, the automatic room barrier scans the Radio
Frequency Identification on the car and opens the gate. A dedicated service bay and
adviser are assigned, post which regular checks of service history is done, whereby the
engineer recommends the jobs that need to be done. A comprehensive report of the
services rendered along with the details of the car’s health is sent to the owner.

What’s next?
Giving a premium customer experience was great, but it was beginning to draw a large hole
in Maruti’s pockets, especially given the fact that it was trying to re-brand itself as being the
“common man’s car with premium experience.” Would it be able to sustain this momentum
for long attracting the newer generation is a question that still seems to be lingering?

Notes
1. This case has been completely written based on the authentic published sources only.
Consequently, the authors’ interpretation and perspectives presented in this case are not
necessarily those of Maruti or Nexa or even any of their employees.
2. www.autocarindia.com/car-news/year-end-discounts-on-baleno-ciaz-s-cross-and-ignis-410659
3. https://marutistoragenew.blob.core.windows.net/nexaexperience/cms/NEXA-200th-Showroom.pdf
4. https://autoportal.com/newcars/marutisuzuki/about.html
5. All currency amounts are in ` (Indian Rupees) unless otherwise specified.
6. Mondal op. cit.
7. ` = INR, Indian Rupee; $US1 = `66.96 on July 28, 2016.
` = INR, Indian Rupee; $US1 = `70.98 on January 16, 2019.

References
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economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/passenger-vehicle/uv/maruti-suzuki-opens-bookings-for-new-s-
cross/60827851 (accessed 26 November 2017).

BEF (2018), “Automobile industry in India”, available at: www.ibef.org/industry/india-automobiles.aspx

(accessed 15 January 2019).
Bhargava, Y. (2016), “Nexa may contribute 15% to Maruti Suzuki sales by 2020”, The Hindu, 22 July,
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Corresponding author
Arun Kumar Kaushik can be contacted at: arunkaushik.iitr@gmail.com

VOL. 16 NO. 4 2020 j THE CASE JOURNAL j PAGE 505

 Exhibit 1. Firm’s market share in India (FY 2017–2018)

Figure E1

Others, 4.10
Ford India, 2.74
Renault India, 3.11
Toyota Kirloskar,
4.28
Honda Cars India,
5.17

Tata Motors, 6.39

Maruti Suzuki, 49.98

Mahindra &
Mahindra, 7.57

Hyundai Motor
India, 16.31

Source: Carmakers' market share in India (FY 2017-18)

Exhibit 2. Passenger vehicles sold in FY 2017–2018

Table E1
Firm Units sold in FY 2017–2018 Market share (%)

Maruti Suzuki 1,643,467 49.98

Hyundai Motor India 536,241 16.31
Mahindra & Mahindra 248,859 7.57
Tata Motors 210,200 6.39
Honda Cars India 170,026 5.17
Toyota Kirloskar 140,645 4.28
Renault India 102,222 3.11
Ford India 90,061 2.74
Others (Nissan, FCA, VW, Skoda, Isuzu) 146,244 4.45
Total 3,287,965 100.00
Source: Carmakers’ market share in India (FY 2017–2018)

PAGE 506 j THE CASE JOURNAL j VOL. 16 NO. 4 2020

Exhibit 3. Classification of cars based on the length of the vehicle (passenger car
segment)

Table E2
Segment Type Length (mm) Example

A1 Segment Mini Up to 3,400 Maruti Suzuki: M800

Tata Motors: Nano
A2 Segment Compact 3,401 to 4,000 Maruti Suzuki: Alto, Wagon R, Zen, A-Star, Swift
Hyundai: i10, i20
Fiat: Palio
Tata Motors: Indica
A3 Segment Midsize 4,001 to 4,500 Honda: City
Maruti Suzuki: SX4, Dzire
Mahindra: Logan
Hyundai: Accent, Verna
Ford: Fiesta
A4 Segment Executive 4,501 to 4,700 Toyota: Corolla
Honda: Civic
Mercedes-Benz: C class
Chevrolet: Optra
Skoda: Octavia
A5 Segment Premium 4,701 to 5,000 Toyota: Camry
Mercedes-Benz: E class
Honda: Accord
Hyundai: Sonata
Skoda: Laura, Superb
A6 Segment Luxury Above 5,000 Mercedes: S class
BMW: 5 series
B1 Segment Van Maruti Suzuki: Omni, Versa
B2 Segment (Multi-Utility Vehicle/ Multi-Purpose Vehicle) Toyota: Innova
Chevrolet: Tavera
Tata Motors: Sumo
SUV Segment – Honda: CRV
Maruti Suzuki: Vitara
Source: Compiled from various sources

Exhibit 4. Car models launched by Maruti (year wise)

Table E3
Serial no. Model Launched Serial no. Model Launched

1. 800 1983 16. A-star 2008

2. Omni 1984 17. Maruti Suzuki SX4 2008

3. Gypsy 1985 18. Zen Estilo 2009

4. Gypsy E 1985 19. Ritz 2009

5. 1000 1990 20. Eeco 2009

6. Zen 1993 21. Alto K 10 2010

7. Esteem 1994 22. Ertiga 2012

8. Baleno 1999 23. Alto 800 2012
9. Wagon R 1999 24. Stingray 2013

10. Alto 2000 25. Celerio 2014

11. Versa 2001 26. Ciaz# 2014
12. Grand Vitara XL7 2003 27. Baleno# 2015
13. Swift 2005 28. S-Cross# 2015
14. Grand Vitara 2007 29. Ignis# 2016
15. Dzire 2008 30. Vitara Brezza 2016
Notes:  Models, which the company had discontinued from the market; #Selling by Nexa
Source: Compiled from various sources

VOL. 16 NO. 4 2020 j THE CASE JOURNAL j PAGE 507