Maruti Ciaz drives past 100,000 sales milestone, diesel variant dominates

The Ciaz, Maruti Suzuki India’s midsize premium sedan, has crossed the 100,000 unit sales mark in India 21 months after it was launched in the domestic market.

Launched in October 2014, the Ciaz is offered with both petrol and diesel engines, and goes head to head with the Honda City, Hyundai Verna, Volkswagen Vento and the Skoda Rapid.

The Ciaz has been averaging over 5,000 unit sales a month since the past five-odd months albeit sales dipped last month following production losses at Maruti plants.

Since its launch till end-May 2016, the sedan had sold 97,472 units – 43,320 of them petrol and 54,152 diesel. Add the 2,800 units sold in June 2016, and the Ciaz’s cumulative sales in India total 100,272 units.

As is known, Maruti production was badly impacted in early June due to a fire at key supplier Subros Ltd's plant in Manesar. This is likely to have resulted in slower deliveries of the Ciaz, and other cars, to dealers.   

The petrol-engined Ciaz is powered by a 92hp, 1.4-litre four-cylinder engine which is offered with a five-speed manual and a four-speed automatic gearbox. While the manual transmission car delivers an ARAI-rated fuel economy of 20.73kpl, the automatic transmission-equipped variants are rated at 19.12kpl.

Diesel variants are powered by a 90hp, 1.3-litre engine that gets a five-speed manual gearbox, and is equipped with Suzuki’s SHVS mild-hybrid technology. It delivers an ARAI-rated fuel economy of 28.09kpl, which makes it the most efficient diesel sedan in its class.

The Ciaz’s base VDi and VXi variants get a driver-side airbag, while ABS and dual front airbags are optional add-ons. All other variants get two air-bags and ABS as standard. Top-end variants (ZXi+, ZDi+ and RS) also get Maruti’s SmartPlay touchscreen infotainment system.

Maruti also exports the Ciaz to Africa, South America, Central America, Middle East, ASEAN countries, and as of June 2016, the carmaker has shipped over 18,000 units of the car abroad.

Commenting on the 100,000 sales milestone, R S Kalsi, executive director, Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki India, “The Ciaz is the largest selling sedan in the A3+ segment. It has enabled us to achieve a market share of 40% in the premium sedan segment. The success of the Ciaz is very encouraging as it demonstrates customers’ confidence in Maruti Suzuki and reinforces our commitment to offer premium products in the upper segments.”