Maruti Suzuki is the most successful manufacturer in the Indian market, but many unpredictable vehicles were suspended by the brand
Over the years, Maruti Suzuki has become the number one manufacturer in the Indian market and offers a wide range of vehicles. However, every now and then models have to be discontinued because they have become too old or they are not as popular in the market anymore. Here is a list of all the eight cars that the manufacturer has discontinued in India from 2011.
1. Maruti Suzuki Zen Estilo
2007-2013
The Maruti Suzuki Zen Estilo replaced the iconic Zen hatchback from the market in 2007. However, over the years, the tall boy designed Zen Estilo failed to gain popularity in the Indian market.
Maruti tried to induce a new life in the Zen Estilo by introducing mid-life updates and changes, but it just failed to capture the attention of the market, primarily because the highly successful WagonR was also on sale and it offered a similar tallboy design at a lower price.
2. Maruti Suzuki A-Star
2008-2014
Maruti Suzuki A-Star was the first Maruti Suzuki model to offer the K-Series petrol engine in the Indian market. The A-Star never became popular in the Indian market, mainly because of the slightly higher price tag it came with.
The vehicle faced competition from the Maruti Suzuki models like the Ritz and never made it to the top 10 selling cars in India. The A-Star was finally discontinued to make way for the Celerio in the Indian market.
3. Maruti Suzuki Kizashi
2011-2014
Maruti launched its first ever premium sedan in the form of the Kizashi in the Indian market. It was imported as Completely Built Units (CBU) and carried an extremely high price tag. The Kizashi was aimed at vehicles like Toyota Camry and Honda Accord in the Indian market, but the high price tag kept the buyers away from it. It was powered by a 2.4-litre petrol engine that produced a maximum of 176 Bhp.
4. Maruti Suzuki SX4
2007-2014
Maruti Suzuki launched the all-new SX4 in the Indian market to replace the Baleno sedan in the Indian market. The SX4 was really muscular and came with the tagline “Men are back!”. The SX4 became quite popular till the arrival of the Hyundai Verna in the market. The sales dipped down to around 250 units on an average in 2014. The SX4 was replaced with the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, which came back very strongly in the segment and helped Maruti Suzuki to regain the lost market.
5. Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara
2007-2015
The Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara was another Completely Built Unit (CBU) imported by Maruti Suzuki India to the Indian market. It was only available with a petrol engine, and the commanding price tag caused the poor sales of the Grand Vitara in the Indian market.
Maruti Suzuki officially stopped importing the flagship SUV in 2014, but a few variants of the vehicle were still on sale in 2015 too. It came with a 2.4-litre, 4-cylinder engine that produced a maximum of 163.5 Bhp and peak torque of 225 Nm. It offered a full-time 4WD system with a central locking differential.
6. Maruti Suzuki Ritz
2009-2017
Maruti Suzuki Ritz was discontinued in 2017 after the launch of new-generation Maruti Suzuki cars in the market and declining sales of the Ritz. In its lifetime, Maruti Suzuki sold about 4 lakh units of the Ritz, and it was also available for the fleet buyers. The Ritz was discontinued after the launch of the Ignis in the market.
7. Maruti Suzuki Celerio diesel
2014-2017
Maruti Suzuki Celerio became the first car in the Indian market to offer the Automated Manual Transmission (AMT). Apart from the AMT version, Maruti Suzuki also offered a parallel-twin cylinder diesel engine with the Celerio. The diesel variants of the Celerio were not very popular in the market, primarily due to the lack of refinement from the twin-cylinder diesel engine. Maruti Suzuki pulled the plug due to deficient demand and then never used the dual-cylinder diesel engine in any of the passenger cars.
8. Maruti Suzuki Ignis diesel
2017-2018
Maruti Suzuki recently discontinued the diesel versions of the urban hatchback Ignis. With the BS-VI emission norms around the corner, Maruti Suzuki said that in the future small vehicles will not be offered with the diesel engines. The 1.3-litre diesel engine powering the Ignis is not BS-VI ready, and due to the low demand of the diesel versions, Maruti Suzuki has decided to discontinue the variants. Maruti Suzuki is working on a facelift that will only offer petrol engine options.