The waiting period for a new Maruti car will drop significantly over the next few months as Maruti has expanded production capacity at its Manesar plant. The capacity has been expanded by 1 lakh units and now takes the total output to 9 lakh units per annum.
The plant is responsible for producing the Ertiga, Brezza, XL6, Wagon R, Dzire, S-Presso, Ciaz and Celerio, most of which are Maruti’s top-volume models. Of these, the Dzire will enter a new generation while Wagon R is Maruti’s most successful model in terms of sales for the previous FY.
Depending on any of the models you choose, the waiting period is currently in the region of 2-6 months, with the Ertiga having the highest waiting period. Consequently, the Rumion, which is Toyota’s version of the Ertiga, also manufactured in Manesar, has a waiting period of six months.
In the larger scheme of things, this bump in production capacity will most help Maruti’s bigger cars as they all face intense competition from their Korean and Indian rivals in the SUV segment. The advantage that Maruti has in terms of pricing and lower entry points when compared to the competition should aid their cause.