Maruti Suzuki is set to launch another small car on Indian roads, in the beginning of 2009.
In India, the new car is likely to be called Splash. In the run-up to the launch, Maruti Suzuki has called for a creative pitch, a development which was confirmed by Shashank Srivastava, chief general manager, marketing, Maruti Suzuki India.
The car is running on the roads in Europe and was recently launched in Japan. India is next in line.
The name of the new car hasn’t yet been finalised although media reports suggest that the Splash might be called the Ritz in India. Srivastava refused to comment on this.
Maruti’s four roster agencies –Lowe Worldwide, Hakuhodo Percept, Capital Advertising and Dentsu – will compete for the business. Dentsu, which handles the creative duties for Zen Estilo, is the most recent addition. Earlier this business was handled by O&M.
Recently, the agencies were called for an initial meeting and briefing and the first round of presentations will take place in January 2009. Srivastava reveals that the first round will be a creative one.
Lowe handles the SX4, Omni, Alto, Esteem and Versa. Hakuhodo Percept handles the Maruti 800, WagonR, Grand Vitara Escudo and the recently launched A-Star. Capital handles the Swift.
With the Honda Jazz, the Hyundai i20 and the Fiat Grande Punto all yet to be launched, the small car segment in India will see a lot of action in 2009. Maruti currently has the highest number of cars in the small car segment, so how the Splash will be different is yet to be discovered,