With the arrival of new models and market hotting up for 2010, Maruti Suzuki the numero uno is pulling out all stops to defend its 50+ per cent market share in the domestic market. There are reports that is reportedly working on a new engine which would replace the engines (F8D) of Alto (800cc) and Wagon R (1100cc) as also indicated in a report in The Financial Express. It is expected that once the engine is replaced, the price points would be brought down significantly and help Maruti asell more of these cars. The business daily adds that the new engine is expected to be more powerful than the current one and is expected to be a revolutionary change. The engine, which has a codename – Yp3, will be available in cars by the end of 2010. While the Alto will have 2 cylinders, there would be 3 cylinders for WagonR. It is widely believed that this methodology has been envisaged after the successful run of KB series engine in Estilo (1.0 litre), Ritz (1.2 litre) and A-Star (1.0 litre). Alto and WagonR will get the codenamed engines YP3 which will replace the current F8D engine. Furthermore, there are indicationa that Maruti Suzuki WagonR too would get styling changes both on the exterior and interior. The exterior changes include an all new headlamp, new front fascia and new tail lamp styling. On the interiors, the new WagonR will get an all-new instrument panel. Although Maruti Suzuk's spokesperson could not be immediately contacted, a senior official of the company had earlier said, "We have exhausted our quota of new cars with eight new launches in India in the past three years. Now we are looking at strengthening our leadership by refreshing our old portfolio." The company has developed the new KB series petrol engines with an investment of Rs. 1,200 crore, which will be strapped in several of these cars". However, when queried about the proposed models which will undergo a facelift, he maintained, "Maruti follows a policy of refreshing models every five years," without revealing anything.For further: www.wheelsunplugged.com/ViewNews.aspx?newsid=5571
