Maruti Suzuki to roll out car for rich youth

Hyderabad: In its efforts to position itself as a premium car maker, Maruti Suzuki is going launch its yet- another premium car Ignis, specifically targetting at affluent youth.

According to sources in the company, Ignis will be  positioned as a model for the Indian millennials, who are affluent and have grown up in a car owning household. It will be launched on Friday.

Marketing experts feel that brand positioning has become very crucial in promoting the sales of an aspiration product like a car. “When a model is positioned as the one designed for the affluent, there are chances of even first-time car buyers opting for it due to positioning.”

Tata Nano has been a textbook case for branding experts in India. As it was branded as the cheapest car in the world, most first time car buyers hesitated to buy it. With Ignis, Maruti Suzuki appears to be keen on enlist the youth early in their career.

This strategy is in tune with changing demographics of India as it expected to have a much bigger share of youth compared to other countries.

According to ESS data, the share of cars bought by those aged less than 29 years has been steadily growing. They were the buyers of 22 per cent of the total cars in 2010. The share went up to 27 per cent in 2016 and is expected to increase further.

Ignis has already been launched in Japan in 2016. In India, it will be sold at its Nexa showrooms and will have an option to personalise with concepts like roof wraps. Ignis will have auto gear shift in both its petrol and diesel versions.