New Maruti Suzuki Swift registers over 30,000 booking ahead of Auto Expo 2018 launch

Maruti Suzuki's new hatchback, the 2018 Swift, is all set to enter the market on February 8 at Auto Expo 2018. And, it seems the new version of the swift will be a runaway hit, given the huge response it got much ahead of the launch. The booking numbers promise that the new Swift will fly high in the market. 

India's largest carmaker opened bookings for the 2018 Swift on January 19. As the launch gets near, it has garnered over 30,000 bookings, according to Kenichi Ayukawa, MD and CEO of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.

"We have received around 30,000 bookings till now, but will see the real numbers when we announce the price. As we have not announced the price we can't have a say on number of bookings as some people might cancel the bookings after the real prices are announced," BusinessLine quoted Ayukawa as saying.

The head of the car company also indicates the price of the third generation Swift may not be as competitive as the previous two generations. 2018 Maruti Suzuki Swift is expected to be priced slightly premium over the current version which is retailed at a starting price of Rs 5.23 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi.

Also read: 2018 Maruti Suzuki Swift price likely to start from Rs 5.83 lakh

Maruti Suzuki has also done some rearrangements in its manufacturing plants for the smooth delivery of new Swift units. "We are focusing the production in Gujarat plant right now and have shifted the production of Baleno to Manesar because demand for Swift will be more and the Gujarat plant has a capacity of 2.5 lakh a year right now." Gujarat plant's top priority now is to manufacture enough number of new Swift units.

Also read: Maruti Suzuki to showcase Concept Future S, e-Survivor and others at Auto Expo 2018

Ironically, the waiting period for new Maruti Suzuki Swift even after such large-scale arrangements has already reached to four months in some cities. This indicates Maruti Suzuki will have a tough time ahead in delivering cars for the customers on time.

To be offered in LXi/LDi, VXi/VDi, ZXi/ZDi, and ZDi+/ZXi+ variants, the new Swift has started arriving at the showrooms of the company. It will be sold through the new re-branded Maruti Suzuki Arena.

2018 Maruti Suzuki Swift will come with the tried and tested 1.2-litre K12 VVT petrol and 1.3-litre DDiS 190 diesel engines. The petrol mill will be tuned to churn out 83hp of power and 113Nm of torque while the diesel unit will develop 75hp of power and 190Nm of torque. The new Swift will get the five-speed manual transmission and five-speed Auto Gear Shift (AGS) transmission in both petrol and diesel trims.