There is really bad news coming for the buyers of Maruti Ertiga ZDi (top-end diesel) that you have to wait for a period of nine months from now till March 2013 for the delivery. Meanwhile, the rising waiting period for this value-for-money MPV is a big worry for the car maker as it rises further; it will mean a great impact on further bookings.
The reason is due to the shortage of alloy wheels which is featured as standard fitment only on the top-end Ertiga (ZXi & ZDi) variants, the company is facing difficulty ramping up production. These alloys are imported from Thailand where Maruti’s sole supplier is unable to cope with the sudden spike in demand.
Even for the petrol Ertiga, the ZXi has a waiting period of 10-12 weeks. The LXi and VXi variants are available almost off the shelf, but depending on the colour, you might have to wait for around two weeks. The waiting period of the lesser diesel variants – the VDi and the LDi – is four months and one month respectively.
Apart from alloy wheels, the ZDi has additional features like driver seat height adjustment, rear defogger and wash wipe, and two airbags over the VDi. However, if it’s only alloy wheels you want, you can fit them on the VDi from Maruti’s accessories division – a set of five alloys costs Rs 21,000 approximately.
According to the company dealers, since the price gap between the mid- and top-end variant is Rs 80,000 approximately, many buyers are opting for the top-end variant. On the cheaper Swift, the gap between the Z and the V variants is around Rs 1 lakh.
What we say? In the absence of alloy wheels too, the break away from bookings will be less and people are expected to stick to their bookings and we are quite sure that the Maruti will find an alternative way to solve the problem.
Also see– Maruti Suzuki Ertiga launched at price of Rs.5.89 lakhs
Source – AutoCarIndia
