Many people among us, Even today whenever think about a car, Then the first thought that comes to our mind is of “Maruti 800” Even today this car rules our hearts. And we can’t forget this car even if we try to. And the car that changed everyone’s life Why have we forgotten about that car today? There was a time, Where on every street of the country we saw only Maruti 800. As today, cold drink means Coca cola, Similarly, at that time car means Maruti 800. From years 1983 to 2004 Total 21 years, Maruti 800 was a single car, Which won the title of India’s best-selling car for 21 years. But the car that used to rule our hearts, To buy the car for which people used to wait for years Today there is no name of that car on the roads of India. Maruti 800, that was once the heartbeat of people’s heart Today no one thinks of buying it even in their dreams. So What happened with Maruti 800? Today this car is seen nowhere. And most importantly, What are those powerful business lessons, That we can learn from this case study, And implement in our business.
How Maruti 800 was Started
So this story starts in 1942. When Hindustan motors launch their ambassador car. During those days ambassador car was a status symbol. Because either politician had this car. Or big businessman. At that time in India, only these 3 cars were used. Hindustan motors’ Ambassador. Premier auto’s Padmini And Mahindra’s Jeep C All these cars, Where very nice. But in all these cars there was one thing in common. That was all these cars were so expensive A normal person could not think of buying these cars. At that in India, Cars were like a luxury. And so people mostly traveled with 2 wheelers. But then came the era of the 1980s. And this was that time, When India’s normal person life was going to change forever.
Maruti 800 success
On 24th January 1981, India’s prime minister Indira Gandhi Starts the company “Maruti Udyog Ltd”. This company’s started With the motive of affordable vehicles for normal people. But because of not having expertise in making cars, Maruti now needed a partner. What happened then? Our country’s prime minister Writes letter to every car company in the world. That Maruti Udyog Ltd requires a partner here in India. So that we can make affordable vehicles in India. After these letters, she received many responses. But no one wanted to work with Maruti Udyog Ltd. The situation was bad. The company was started but the production did not start. At that time, the Suzuki company’s director was in India. And he reads in India’s newspaper A letter was sent to all companies by Maruti Udyog Ltd. But Suzuki was the only company Who did not reply to their letter. After listening to this thing, He calls his Suzuki office And tells them to reply to their letter as soon as possible. And after that, Suzuki raises its hands forward Does partnership with Maruti Udyog Ltd. And in the year 1982, Maruti Udyog Ltd becomes Maruti Suzuki. And finally after 18 months of hard work, On 14th December 1983 SS 80 model was launched in the market. The country’s first Maruti car, To Mr.Harpal Singh Was given by the hands of Prime minister Indira Gandhi. Today Mr.Harpal Singh, Is not in this world. But this car is still present at his house. And he never sold this car in his life. For people Maruti is not a car but an emotion. So as Maruti 800 was launched in the market, It started ruling our hearts. People were so crazy about this car, Where Maruti had the capacity of making 40,000 vehicles They had orders of more than 1.25 lakhs. People had to wait for 3 years for their Maruti car. Now the question is, What was so special about Maruti 800?
Special things about Maruti 800
1. Light weight.
Ambassador, Padmini, Jeep C Were fantastic. But all of them were heavy-duty vehicles. Because of which the speed of these vehicles Was not too much. Where the Ambassadors top speed was 129 Kms Maruti 800’s top speed was 140 km This car more from its top speedometer That means it reached up to 144kms.
2.Mileage
We all must have often listened about this, How much does it give? And believe it or not, this thing is every one of us. Ambassador , Padmini and Jeep C These cars were so heavy, That did not give too much mileage. Similarly, on the other side, Maruti 800, At that time, used to give average mileage of 16 km.
3. Affordable car.
Maruti 800’s price at that time was kept at Rs.47500. And at the price with such fantastic features And the strong mileage this car had It had no competition. Maruti’s innovative features, The front wheel drive experience Affordable pricing And with a compact design Won everyone’s heart. The Craze for Maruti increased so much, That some people use to say it as their first love. And because of this Maruti 800 became India’s best-selling car. Won people’s hearts. And today we can’t forget this car even if we try to.
After 2004, What happened That removed the fan following of Maruti 800 from its roots. Why did people start to forget Maruti 800? What happened with this car? That no one even thinks of buying this in their dreams. We will discuss it below
Maruti 800 Business strategy
Maruti always took care of its all customers. The time when they launched Maruti 800, At that time they launched the Maruti driving school. Where they taught people to drive cars. So now if someone learns to drive cars from Maruti, Then from whom will it buy the car? From Maruti. After that, people could easily buy Maruti car And people don’t face any problems after buying a car, So Maruti started Maruti Finance and Maruti Insurance. This means from teaching cars to financing cars, Every headache was taken by Maruti for their customers. From 1983 to 2004, For a total of 21 years, Maruti 800 ruled every street of India. In market, there were Maruti’s other cars like Omni van & JeepC But Maruti 800 had no competition.
How Maruti 800 Failed
Then suddenly, something changes. Brand defeating brand. In 2004, Maruti Suzuki launches a new alto model. This model’s design, engine, strength, and mileage All these things were better than Maruti 800. In fact, if we talk about price and features Then Maruti by making a better car than its signature car Killed its own signature car. After Alto’s launch people slowly started forgetting Maruti 800. And just in 1 year, Alto Maruti 800’s 21-year India’s best selling car record By breaking it made a new identity. Maruti 800 was a good car. During that time, only in18 seconds This car used to go from 0 to 100. But if we talk about safety, Then this car had no safety features. In India more than 3 lakh Maruti 800 cars Faced very horrible accidents. And these accidents were so horrible, That Maruti 800 car was literally into pieces. Since 2004, there was some change in emission norms, And up to 2010, These norms were fully changed. But even until that, Maruti 800 did not any changes to it So that it could fit in those norms. Neither there were any changes in Maruti 800, Nor any innovation. During that time this car was a blast. But with changing times, People’s choices of the car also changed. Now people do not want small and compact cars But they want elegant design, speed, and powerful cars. But Maruti 800 did not change itself with time. At that time having a Maruti 800 was a status symbol. Because at that time from Manmohan Singh To Sachin Tendulkar, Everyone used Maruti 800. But as people’s income started increasing, People started moving towards other cars. And up to 2010, the car that had India’s 49% market share The car that had India’s 49% market share of automobile sector Finally in 2014, stops its production. But the truth is, Even today Maruti 800 rules our hearts. Today Maruti 800 is there or not But then too we have a special place for this car. And whenever we see this car anywhere, Then we remember our old times. Not in India but in Pakistan, Even today Maruti is one of the most sold cars. Because in Pakistan Toyota and Honda cars are very expensive. And people over there can afford only Maruti 800. And the funny this is, Even today in Pakistan, Maruti 800’s top model Is sold for 7.5 lakh rupees.
Business lessons
1.No cult is forever.
In simple words, The thing that is famous today Maybe won’t be famous in the upcoming time. By making any product you should never think that, The fame of that product will stay forever. Because every fame has a time. And after that, the fame is finished. The special thing about time is, Time always changes. And interestingly along with time, Customer taste and preferences are also changed. By keeping this thing in mind, You should regularly make changes to your product. Or else you will also be out of business.
2.Scarcity brings value.
Until there is a scarcity of anything up to then it has value. Until to get Maruti 800 people had to wait for 3 years Until then the craze for Maruti 800 was high. But when such a car was easily available The craze of this thing was reduced.
3.Evolution is the game.
Everything changes with time. And the best thing is Maruti Suzuki also changed itself time Introduced new cars in the market. Because of this, this company is stable. Maruti 800’s production is stopped so what? After all Maruti Suzuki Gave us cars like Alto, wagnar, baleno and swift . Evolution helps every company to be a people’s brand. By using that thing, All these companies by evolving themselves from time to time. Are still stable in the market.
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