Over 1,500 cus
tomers will drive
their DZires, and the top three with best mileage will be declared winners. This event is to counter Amaze's key selling proposition: the most fuel-efficient car in the country.
"The idea is to look back, give DZire owners a chance to test their cars and rediscover that the model remains as fresh and is still a best-buy, especially when it comes to getting the best mileage from every litre of fuel," said Mayank Pareek, chief operating officer (marketing & sales), Maruti Suzuki. According to ARAI (Automotive Research Association of India), the petrol version of DZire delivers 19.1 kmpl, which is 1.1 km more than Amaze, but the diesel version of Amaze delivers 2.4 km more than DZire. For the discerning Indian customer, fuel efficiency has always been top-of-the-mind, and Maruti has striven to deliver on this count. This is perhaps the first time that competition - Honda - has stolen its thunder.
Maruti Suzuki, which had hosted 'Mileage' rallies in the past for models like Alto, Swift and WagonR, feels an event like this is most effective when customers themselves advertise their products. "There's no better publicity in India than word-ofmouth," said a person familiar with the company's plans.
Indeed, an internal research by the company has shown 74-75% of customers still buy cars through referrals, after checking with friends or relatives. Maruti Suzuki has carefully picked on specific issues of Amaze and has tried to deliver better. For instance, with Amaze coming in for some criticism for its interiors which isn't topnotch, Maruti Suzuki quickly tried to cash in on this aspect with Regal's superior interiors. VG Ramakrishnan, managing director, Frost & Sullivan, South Asia, says most successful companies have engaged with customers at the ground level. "This is like taking competition head-on and where it matters, on the road. The marketing team couldn't have stayed silent, they had to do something. Maruti Suzuki is known for its fuel efficiency, and it's a very interesting initiative. But I'm not too sure this alone will be able to stop the Amaze mania: the company will have to take a series of initiatives to keep customers engaged with the brand," said Frost & Sullivan's Ramakrishnan.
Maruti Suzuki, however, says there's no more action coming up. Dzire has had a fabulous run so far, with sales averaging over 15,000 to 18,000 units a month, enjoying leadership position at the entry or compact sedan segment. Several launches like Toyota's Etios, new Tata Manza and Mahindra's Verito failed to dent DZire's growing numbers. In fact, DZire's performance was one of the key reasons behind Maruti Suzuki's volume growth of 4-5% last fiscal. |
