Maruti 800 is India’s most iconic car ever, but era will soon be a history. Maruti Suzuki which heralded a revolution of sorts with it creating a whole new segment of cars will stop manufacturing the most legend car Maruti 800 before this month-end.
Maruti 800 was launched in the year 1983, the same year India also won the World Cup. But the other winner was the legend car which sold the highest numbers ever, the car has sold more than 2.7 million units since launch in 1983. After 3 successful decades a humble and mediocre car that became the most unlikely status symbol in India.
Maruti 800 was launched for people who could not afford car like Padmini and Ambassador at that time. It gave people a chance to own a car at that point of time. Maruti 800 ruled the Indian roads until 2004 when Maruti Suzuki introduced its own Alto, another bestseller. By 2010, the company had stopped selling the M800 in 11 cities, including the four metros, due to new emission norms.
With more comparators entering Indian market the market for M800 started shrinking. Last fiscal the company sold an average 2,000 units of M800 a month compared with 5,000 units in Feb 2011 and around 8,000 units earlier. Though sales were sliding, the company never confirmed stopping its production.
But all of the sudden during launch of its latest multi-purpose vehicle Ertiga, I V Rao, managing executive officer, engineering, Maruti Suzuki, told reporters, “We are stopping production of this model from this April-end.”
There is no need to be disappointed for Maruti 800 buyers, Maruti will be soon launching new comparative vehicle to 800. You can check out more info about this vehicle here.
Also see – Maruti Suzuki launches swift alpha limited edition
