Maruti Suzuki to delay launch of Ignis hatchback to meet 1 lakh bookings

Bold and aggressive tallboy crossover hatchback, the soon-to-be released Maruti Suzuki Ignis hatchback may not indeed be soon-to-be released, as the hatchback may face a delay in launch. Marked for the festive season, there may not be a launch in the season, as a three to six month delay is expected.

This is in going with the Maruti’s plans to clear the backlog of about 100,000 bookings for the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and the Baleno. Maruti has been burdened with a six to eight month waiting period for some of these models. While they have been trying to ramp up production to meet the demand, a new launch of a much awaited crossover hatchback is not much likely.

So, the Ignis hatchback will likely see a launch in the first quarter of 2017. The first production of the Ignis, planned to begin in September, has also now been postponed to November. So, even the trial production, that happens before the launch of any product, won’t begin anytime soon for the Ignis. Since it could further slow down production and delivery of the in-demand Brezza and Baleno, the production of the new hatchback has been postponed to reduce waiting periods.

The Ignis is expected to be sold 60,000-80,000 units per year, which could have caused a further bottleneck in the production of the Baleno and the Brezza. The Maruti, meanwhile, has been trying to ease the six to eight month waiting periods of some of their models by ramping up production and as well as by opening a new manufacturing facility in Gujarat, scheduled for a launch in February 2017.

Source: Vicky.in