End of the road for iconic Maruti 800

[mmadhankumar]

Maruti Suzuki India said on Saturday it had halted production of its iconic first small car, the Maruti 800, which revolutionised road transport for millions of Indians.

The boxy, four-seater hatchback - the first car ever owned by many Indian families - was first manufactured in 1983 and more than 2.4 million have been sold since.

"We have stopped the M-800 (Maruti 800) production completely," CV Raman, executive director Maruti Suzuki told reporters at India's premier auto fair in the New Delhi suburb of Greater Noida that winds up on Sunday.

The decision to phase out the Maruti 800, hailed as a triumph of small-car engineering at the time, was taken in 2010 to meet new auto emission standards aimed at cutting pollution on India's increasingly congested roads.

The no-frills car has been eclipsed by newer, fancier models.

But even as the car drives into history, spare parts will be available for customers for eight to 10 years, a company spokesman said.

The car, costing Rs. 50,000 ($803) when launched, is now priced at Rs. 2,35,000, according to a company website.

End of the road for iconic Maruti 800 | NDTV.com

 

[anupbharadwaj]

A truly gem of a car, no non-sense car for middle class people. I had the privilege of driving it for 5 years. Salute the people who thought of the concept and designed it. We will never see such stable cars ever again that is for sure..Good bye my dear friend..

 

[Devesh]

Very sad day for me


My dad first car is maruti 800 and its still with us.