Believe when we say we saw it coming! It has emerged that the Maruti Suzuki A-Star, probably the least popular hatchback from MSIL in recent times, is on its way to go off the shelves in our country.
This doesn’t really come across as a surprise, what with dismal sales performance that the car is known for? A look at the stats reveals that MSIL managed to sell only 5951 units of the car in the period of January-September 2013. To put things in the perspective, the carmaker sold as many as 14,871 units of the old 800 in the same period!
It is a well known fact that the carmaker has been busy testing the 2015 Suzuki Alto on Indian roads and it is very probable that the next gen Alto, which would be the next A-Star, would greet us at the 2014 Indian Auto Expo in February next year. Hence, it becomes all the more unsurprising that the production of the current A-Star will soon be axed.
The upcoming A-Star would be larger than the current model and there are good chances that it would boast of a more cabin space at the rear. Visually, the car could feature plenty of design cues taken from the SX4 S-Cross concept.
However, various spy pics reveal that akin to the current model, the next A-Star would sport thick B and C Pillars. Also, the taillamps would resemble to those on the current JDM-spec Alto.
The next gen Alto is likely to have higher levels of equipment, fuel economy and power. Also, the new car could be launched with a small capacity diesel engine option.
It would be interesting to see if the next A-Star would enjoy a better fate than the current model.
Source- Economic Times via IAB