When Piketty came to India
Thomas Piketty, the French economist and author of the famous book Capital in the Twenty First Century, was recently in India. He delivered a lecture on the state of inequality globally as well as in India.
The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) today launched the all-new version of its popular hatchback Swift at an introductory price ranging between Rs 4.99 lakh to Rs 8.29 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
The company had last month opened bookings for the new Swift, which is based on Suzuki’s 5th generation HEARTECT platform. The model will be available in both petrol and diesel engine options. While the petrol variant will have a 1.2 litre engine, the diesel option is powered by a 1.3 litre engine, the company said.
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Speaking at the launch here at the Auto Expo, Maruti Suzuki Managing Director and CEO Kenichi Ayukawa said, in the last few years, the company has moved forward under the principle of “Transformotion.”
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“Indian customers are changing rapidly. In line with this, our goal is to offer products, technology and experience suited to their changing needs,” he said.
The company is “approaching the new Swift with the same principle of “Transformotion” taking product, technology and experience to the next level”, he added.
Launched in India in 2005, Swift has sold over 1.8 million units, he added.
“For the first time, Swift comes with the convenience of Auto Gear Shift, the highly popular two-pedal technology,” Ayukawa said.
The new version is also wider and has longer wheel base with more cabin space, headroom and luggage space than the outgoing generation car. The company said the all-new Swift is 40 mm wider with 20 mm longer wheel base.
Ayukawa said, equipped with advanced safety features such as Dual airbags and ABS with EBD, among others as standard, the new Swift meets the advanced safety norms ahead of schedule. The luggage space has been increased by 58 litres, around 28 per cent more than the second generation Swift and around 24 mm more headroom, it added.
The company’s parent Suzuki has spent around Rs 800 crore on the development of the new Swift. The new vehicle will be produced from Suzuki’s Gujarat plant. The outgoing Swift was selling on an average of 15,000 units a month. With the new one, the company expects demand to be better than before.
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