Maruti to launch automatic transmission version of A-Star

NEW DELHI (makemystocks): Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (BOM:532500) will launch an automatic transmission version of its popular compact car A-Star in two-three weeks.

Shashank Srivastava, chief general manager (marketing) of Maruti was quoted saying that the automatic transmission version of A-Star would be priced substantially higher than the manual version.

However, he did not specify the price for the automatic variant.

The manual transmission version range of A-Star cars is priced between Rs 350,000 to Rs 400,000.

Srivastava further added that in an automatic transmission system there is no need to change gears and it is ideal for heavy traffic conditions.

At present, Maruti's mid-size model SX4 has an automatic transmission variant, which is priced about Rs 70,000 more than the manual transmission variants, said Srivastava.

The company sold 120,000 A-Star cars overseas and 46,000 units in domestic turf in 2009-10, despite recalling 96,000 cars in November mostly from overseas markets after complaints of fuel tank problems.

A new automatic transmission variant of A-Star will give a brand push as well to A-Star, Srivastava said. A-Star is sold as Alto in the overseas market.

The shares of the company were trading down by 0.40 per cent from the previous close, on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).