The Maruti 800 was created 30 years ago and changed the face of motoring in India forever.
On December14 and 1983, Harpal Singh, after paying the princely amount of Rs 47,500, was handed across the keys to the initial Maruti at that time Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Exactly three decades ago, the humble Maruti 800 was created. It went on to conquer Indian roads and turn into a symbol of mobility much like the Ford Model T did in America along with the Volkswagen Beetle in Europe. It vindicated Osamu Suzuki’s leap of faith in India at the same time when auto giants like Volkswagen, Fiat and Toyota thought it was suicidal to do so.
The 800 breezed into India as a wonder car with a long list of ‘firsts’. This little Suzuki was the first car to get disc brakes, front-wheel drive and synchromesh on first gear! Ridiculously insignificant details like floorshift gears, bucket seats, a plastic moulded dashboard and even wipers that worked effectively had car buyers, previously raised on a diet of prehistoric technology, in raptures. Overnight the antiquated Padminis and Ambassadors were swept away by a wave of Maruti mania. People discovered the joys of driving, women were liberated by its user-friendly nature and very quickly India was on the move. The 800 was responsible for doubling total car sales in India in the first two years but demand was higher still. Buyers were willing to pay a pay premium of twice the official sticker price to acquire a taste of the they had never experienced before – Japanese quality.
With the 800, Maruti not only put a nation on wheels but it introduced a work culture and philosophy for super-efficient manufacturing pioneered through the Japanese. It established a component industry from scratch, but to put it simply, Maruti single-handedly created India’s automobile industry.
What makes Maruti ‘s history intriguing are definitely the unique circumstances under which it was born. This company had the unequivocal support of not just the Prime Minister of India but a mother who wished to fulfill the dreams of her son lost within an air crash. With her emotional involvement in the project, other politicians and bureaucrats couldn’t meddle with Maruti. Actually, unlike other public sectors companies, Maruti was an exception and instead of red tape was given a red carpet.
It didn’t take long for Maruti to completely dominate the Indian car market. Despite the government exited the company more than a decade ago, Maruti went from strength to strength,. That’s easy approvals and many tax concessions which favoured Maruti cars certainly did help during the early years but what’s truly remarkable.
Maruti’s unbroken dominance in the Indian car market can largely be attributed to its top-class management. R.C. Bhargava, who led Maruti for 16 years, honed the corporation into a well-oiled machine by developing an effective work culture, which is the bedrock of the company.
Jagdish Khattar, the managing director within a more competitive environment, understood that there was nothing more significant than keeping his customers happy. Even today, Maruti’s top management has a customer focus like hardly any other company plus a shrewd power to find customers where none exist.
But today, on its 30th birthday, Maruti is facing competition not seen before.
Having concentrated on the cheerful and cheap end of your market, Maruti has glaring gaps in its model range and has completely lost out on the lucrative SUV segment, which has exploded in India. It has failed to find acceptance in premium (and profitable) segments and is also still reliant on Fiat for diesel technology, which makes it vulnerable in a country that’s strongly diesel driven.
And, after thirty years, Maruti still doesn’t possess the capability to design and develop cars in-house which is a crying shame, especially when home-grown rivals like Tata and Mahindra have made huge strides in product development.
However, they are challenges Maruti can’t manage to shy away from and is plotting an item offensive to maintain its grip on the market. After all, that which was once a punt in an unknown country for Suzuki has turned out to be its golden goose.
