2018 all-new Maruti Swift bags 40,000 bookings

The all-new Swift hatchback, launched earlier today, is going great guns. Bookings for the hatchback has just gone past the 40,000 mark, in under a month of official pre-bookings opening. The sharp 4.99 lakh rupees starting price for the car is expected to further boost booking numbers in the coming months.

Maruti’s RS Kalsi expects the new car to sell over 15,000 units each month, and here’s what he said,

The existing Swift is selling about 15000 units monthly and we expect the volumes of the new edition to be higher than that.

Maruti will have a hard time meeting the high-demand for the Swift as the Hanslapur factory can produce only 150,000 cars in the first year of operation. Next year, the factory’s output can be raised to 250,000 cars/year. Until then though, waiting periods of the Swift could easily go into a couple of months if the booking spree continues.

Demand for the Swift is expected to be particularly strong as the car is now available with two new automatic options, both in petrol and diesel. The AMT Petrol and Diesel variants of the new Swift offer good mileage because unlike conventional torque converter automatic gearboxes, they don’t have transmission losses and additional weight to deal with. The Petrol AMT Swift offers a fuel efficiency of 22 Kmpl while the diesel AMT offers 28.4 Kmpl. These figures are similar to the manual gearbox equipped models as well. The new Swift has retained the older model’s engines but has become quicker.

This is because it’s based on a lighter platform called the HEARTECT, which shaves off weight by up to 80 kilograms. The car also becomes roomier inside, with a 20 mm increase in wheelbase. However, overall length has decreased by 20 mm due to shorter overhangs.

This gives the car a very sporty stance. Maruti has also used the longer wheelbase to repackage interiors. The result in more space for passengers and also a 50 liter bigger boot. The new car also gets LED projector headlamps on the top-end model, making it a segment leader on this front.