India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki has reportedly stopped the production of the Ritz hatchback in its plants in order to increase the production of popular models Baleno and Vitara Brezza.
A report by Gaadiwaadi.com claims that the production halt will help the company to produce more units of Vitara Brezza, Baleno and the Ciaz from the Manesar and Gurgaon plant. The report also says that Maruti Suzuki could re-introduce the Ritz with a Tour badge especially for the taxi market soon.
Maruti Suzuki has not issued any statement regarding the information. Since dealerships usually keep a stock of cars, Maruti Suzuki might have temporarily stopped production of the Ritz. Once the existing inventory is cleared, the company is expected to resume production of the Ritz.
It is not surprising that Maruti Suzuki is limiting production of many models to squeeze out more units of the Vitara Brezza and Baleno. Both the plants of the company are already running in full capacity and hence, Maruti Suzuki is struggling to deliver cars for confirmed bookings on time. Both Vitara Brezza and Baleno have over 50,000 bookings at present and the waiting period starts from six months. Maruti Suzuki has already said that clearing the remaining bookings is the top priority for the company.
Launched in 2009, the Ritz is powered by 1.2-litre petrol and diesel engines. The petrol unit develops 86bhp and 114Nm of torque, while the diesel motor churns out 74bhp and 190Nm of torque mated to five-speed manual transmission.
