Maruti Targeting Sales Of 70,000 Units Of The Ciaz

India's biggest and the most selling automaker Maruti, are aiming to sell 70,000 units of their newly launched model, the Maruti Ciaz in India.

The newly launched mid-sized premium sedan has already received 10,000 bookings and 60 percent of the bookings are for the diesel variant.

The Ciaz is built on a totally new platform. The company, along with its investors have invested INR 620 crore to develop this new mid-sized sedan.

Maruti Suzuki recorded a growth in sales of 44.7 percent in the first half of this fiscal from April to September. The company was expecting a double digit growth, while the Automobile industry as a whole grew by single digit. During the period of April to August a year ago, Maruti Suzuki grew by 15.8 percent while the Auto industry grew -2.9 percent.

While the price difference between petrol and diesel prices narrowing, the demand for diesel powered vehicles has declined. During 2012-13, diesel powered vehicles accounted for 58 percent sales of industry volumes which has dropped to 53 per cent during the year 2013-14.

Kerala was among the top regions that sell one lakh units of Maruti a year, which has helped Maruti increase their market share by 2.2 percent to 53 percent.

The petrol variant of the Ciaz starts from INR 7.40 lakh (ex-showroom Cochin) and the diesel variant of the Ciaz starts from INR 8.47 lakh.