Maruti Suzuki Zen Estilo to be shelved

The nose-diving sale of petrol cars has had its effect on the entire auto sector - even on a giant like Maruti Suzuki. In June 2012, the carmaker had announced that it had reduced the production of its petrol cars like the A-star, Estilo and the Wagon R due to the inventory pile-up. While the latter has still managed to trickle decent numbers, the A-star and the Estilo aren’t moving too well for the Suzuki brand, despite having hit the 1,000 unit mark (each) during the festive season. 

Our sources close to Maruti Suzuki now tell us that the Gurgaon based carmaker is contemplating shutting down the production of the Estilo for good. It could make the move as early as March 2013, when the current financial year ends. Our sources also hint that the A-star could follow suit and a new model could replace the car. Both these cars brought relatively fresher styling and equipment to the Rs 3.5 to 5 lakh bracket, but ironically it is the bare bones Wagon R that has been doing a better job of competing with cars like the Hyundai i10, Chevrolet Beat and Honda Brio.