The Maruti Suzuki Ciaz has been the best selling compact sedan in the Indian market for several months now. And now the market leader is taking that success to its premium retail network Nexa. As was always expected - the Ciaz will now no longer be sold through the Maruti Suzuki dealer network but instead will be available at Nexa only. The car gets no mechanical or superficial changes though. The only difference besides which showroom it will stand in is a new colour - the Nexa Blue that it will also now be available in. This is in keeping with the Nexa portfolio signature of offering all models in shades of blue. But unlike the S-Cross, Baleno and Ignis which may have other shades of blue (Ray/Tinsel Blue) but are also available in Urban Blue - the Ciaz is not. A pity really as I'm sure it would have looked stunning dressed in that colour! The Ciaz will continue to be offered in brown, dark red, white, black, grey and silver. The metallic beige has been discontinued to make way for the Nexa Blue.
Maruti Suzuki Ciaz Nexa Blue
The Ciaz has enjoyed tremendous success off late. It is amongst the company's most successful model lines with sales hovering over 5000 units most months. It has beaten the erstwhile market leader Honda City in 7 months of the fiscal and has stacked up larger numbers overall too. The Ciaz has grown over 22 percent year-on-year in the FY'17 fiscal year.
Maruti Suzuki Ciaz Front Row
The Ciaz is expected to grow further now as it steps into Nexa. The reason it has taken Maruti this long to migrate the Ciaz there is because it needed the Nexa network to achieve certain scale before moving a popular model there. Nexa is now over 250 dealers strong and its footprint now covers over 95 percent of areas where Maruti has seen demand for the Ciaz.
Maruti Suzuki Ciaz Touchscreen Infotainment System
Speaking in the move R S Kalsi, Executive Officer Sales and Marketing, Maruti Suzuki said, "52% of customers who walk into Nexa showroom - our research shows that they are customers who never had Maruti Suzuki in their consideration set. So when we move Ciaz to the Nexa channel we expect growth will be far higher than what it has been so far as it will attract new customers too." T his gives the company hope that the Ciaz numbers will grow further as a result of the transition to Nexa. Kalsi adds that while this puts further pressure on production capacities it is an enhancement that the company has taken into account when planning the shift.
Maruti Suzuki Ciaz Front
Maruti Suzuki's Gujarat production unit has gone on stream and it is also working on expediting the second line there. This will alleviate pressure on production capacity, with Baleno, Vitara Brezza, Ignis and Ciaz firing on all cylinders. And with the next-gen Swift Dzire and Swift hatch also on the horizon.
