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Maruti showcases A-Star, the 'global Indian car'
Published on Thu, Jan 10, 2008 at 01:52 in 
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COOL CONCEPT: The A-Star is largely a hatchback version of Maruti's SX4.
New Delhi: The biggest event in India's Auto mobile industry opened in the capital today and the action heated up with the global launch of Maruti's A-Star.
With a rivetting design, 1800 to 2000 cc engine, Maruti's concept car, the A-Star, is a hatchback version of the SX4.
Designed by Saurabh Singh and Rajesh Kumar Gogu of Maruti Suzuki, the car complies with all Euro 5 emission norms and is being touted as the global Indian car.
“It’s very eye-catching; if you drive this, you’d be noticed on the roads, even without the flashing lights,” said auto expert Murad Ali Baig
“It’s a larger hatchback,” he said about the A-Star. “You see, in many European markets, even some of the larger cars like the Mondeo and the Astra are in the hatchback configuration – they don’t make small cars.”
The A -Star launch stole some of the thunder from Tata's 1 lakh car but its not in competition.
Production starts at Maruti's Manesar factory in October 2008 with the first batch being shipped to Europe in December.
By 2010, Suzuki plans to export 100,000 units of the new model to Europe, said Suzuki Motor Corporation’s Managing Director, Shinzo Nakanishi.
He added that the pricing of the car is yet to be worked out.
News agency IANS reported Nakanishi as saying that the company would launch a new model in India every year to consolidate its market position.
Maruti has also entered into an agreement with Nissan to sell A-Star under the latter's brand name in the US market, Nakanishi said.
The A-Star may take another year to hit the roads, but it has definitely generated a lot of hype out here. What is important is that it’s the first Indo-Japanese collaboration concept car.
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