CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION

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Introduction

Customer satisfaction is the most important aspect that companies must understand in order
to remain competitive and grow. In today’s competitive environment delivering high quality
service is the key for a sustainable competitive advantage. Satisfied customer from the
foundation of any successful business as it leads to repeated purchase and positive word of
mouth. A customer who has a good experience with the concerned dealer may probably use
the same brand again while the customer who experiences problems with a particular brand
of car may not use the same in next time. The core activity of any company is to attract and
retain consumers. For this reason improving quality is important for existing customer and
also for attracting new customers. The main purpose of this study to analyzed in the decision
of the car and level of satisfaction towards atmosphere of the showrooms and design of the
car, engine performance, and safety of the car. Also analyze the various services provided by
the dealers. The primary data for the study have been collected with the help of survey and
questionnaire. The secondary data have been collected from the books, journals, research
reports, article, newspapers and websites.

Business always starts and closes with the customers and hence the customers must be treated
as the king of the market. The progress of the business is based on profit, status, images etc.
and also depends upon the customers. Hence, it is important for all the organizations to meet
the customers’ expectations. Customer satisfaction is a broad concept and involves such
factors as the quality of product, the quality of the service provided, the atmosphere of the
location where the product or service is purchased, and the price of the product or service.
Businesses often use customer satisfaction surveys to measure customer satisfaction. These
surveys are used to gather information about customer satisfaction. Typical areas addressed
in the surveys include quality of product, value of product relative to price- a function of
quality and price, time issues, such as product availability, availability of sales assistance and
delivery time, atmosphere of store, such as cleanliness, organization, service personnel issues,
such as politeness, attentiveness, and helpfulness, convenience, such as location, and hours of
operation. Customer satisfaction is essential for business success in today’s marketplace.
Customer satisfaction measures how well the expectation of a customer concerning a product
or service provided by your company has been met.

In the early 1980s, it was beyond the dreams of common man to own a local made car which
could match the imported ones. The restrictive and claustrophobic policy atmosphere made it

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virtually impossible to produce anything or establish a factory without the painfully slow
process of permits, inquisitions and denials from an army of bureaucrats who had no domain
knowledge but had all the controls to enable or kill corporate initiatives. In such period,
Maruti Udyog Limited was born, thanks to the influence of Late Sanjay Gandhi, son of the
then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi which eased the way through the maze of permit raj. So,
by 1983, India had produced its first alternative to the ubiquitous Ambassador of Hindustan
Motors owned by Birlas and Premier aka Fiat owned by Doshis.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited (hereafter referred to as ‘MSIL’ or 'the Company') is pleased to
present its 39th Annual Report for the financial year 2019-20 (1st April 2019 to 31st March,
2020, or the ‘reporting period’). The report is based on the Integrated Reporting Framework
(referred to as the <IR> framework) developed by the International Integrated Reporting
Council (IIRC). This report intends to serve as a concise communication about the
Company’s thoughts on business, governance, performance (financial and non-financial) and
prospects in context of its external environment.

The financial information presented in this report complies with the financial and statutory
data requirements of the Companies Act, 2013 (including the rules made thereunder), Indian
Accounting Standards, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and
Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, and the Secretarial Standards. It has undergone
independent assurance by Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP.

The non-financial information presented in this report is based on the Global Reporting
Initiative (GRI) standards, and selected disclosures have undergone independent assurance by
TUV India Private Limited. This information covers the manufacturing facilities in Gurugram
and Manesar, Research & Development (R&D) facility in Rohtak, the Head Office in New
Delhi, regional, zonal and area offices across India, sales and distribution facilities and
stockyards. Joint ventures and subsidiaries are excluded. There was no significant change in
scope and boundaries of the non-financial disclosures from the previous reporting period. The
calculation methodologies conform to globally accepted standards, and assumptions,
exclusions and restatements are clearly stated wherever applicable. The report also describes
the alignment of the Company’s contribution to the United Nations’ Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). Additionally, the report is aligned with the ‘Ten Principles of
the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC)' and the National Voluntary Guidelines on

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Social, Environmental and Economic (NVG-SEE) Responsibilities of Businesses in India
issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India.

1.2: OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objectives of the research are:

 To analysed relationship between various demographic variables with level of

satisfaction of the customers.
 To find out various services provided by the dealers.
 To understand the consumer buying behavior towards the Maruti Suzuki cars
 To study the factors influencing the buying behavior of consumer regarding Maruti
Suzuki cars
 To know the preferences of consumer while buying the Maruti Suzuki cars
 To understand the strategies of Maruti Suzuki to attract customers

1.3: NEED OF THE STUDY

This study will be confined to the customers of Maruti Suzuki car in Solan city in H.P to find
out the customers preferences and their needs expected from the business owners. This study
will help to analyze the satisfaction level and problems of the customer. It will help to know
the factors that influence the customer to buy the product. This study is important to know the
necessary changes in product features and customer’s feeling about the product. The study
will be useful for the company to make necessary changes in price, design, application etc.

1.4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is the specific procedures or techniques used to identify, select,

process, and analyze information about a topic. In a research papers, the methodology section
allows the reader to critically evaluate a study’s overall validity and reliability. The
methodology section answers two main question: How was the data collected or generated?
How was it analyzed?

In this paper the adopted methodology of research is extensive literature review of the facts
and figure with respect to buying behavior of consumers, perception when they buy, factors
influencing buying decision and the satisfaction after buying etc. Then data collection was
made to analyze, interpret, reviewing and draw the conclusion.

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1.1 Study design: Descriptive study design was used to fulfill the objectives.

1.2 Study Area: Study was conducted in Solan city

1.3 Sampling Techniques: Simple random sampling method was used for research purpose.

1.4 Sample Size: The sample size considered for research was 100 respondents.

1.5 Data Collection Tools and Technique: Structure interview schedule used was mostly
personal interaction and where the personal interaction was not possible telephonically the
data was collected

1.6 Statistical Analysis: Survey was conducted among current 100 customers by personal
interaction in Solan city, India. Data were analyzed by SPSS 23 version. The overall results
of the study have been presented in tabular, graphical and narrative from. The result of the
research has been presented and discussed under following sub heads.

1.5: Limitations of Study

 The study was restricted to Balangir city only

 The study is mainly concentrated on Flipkart.com

 The sample of the size will be limited to time and resources

 The information will be collected valid until there is no any technical change or any
innovation

 The result is assuming that respondents have given accurate information

1.6: Organisation of Study

Chapter-1: introduction

Chapter-2: review of literature

Chapter-3: Conceptual Profile

Chapter-4: Company Profile

Chapter-5: Data Analysis

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 CHAPTER-2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

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1. REVIEWOFLITERATURE

A review of literature shows that researchers investigated the relationship between attribute
and overall customer satisfaction with Maruti Suzuki using different car and nature of
attributes. In addition, the results of these studies will empirically validate that proposed
attributes considerably affects overall customer satisfaction with Maruti Suzuki car of service
provided.

Rana and Lokhande (2013) study showed that in March 2008 Maruti Suzuki’s sales were
Rs.21221 crore which was more than March 2007 by Rs. 21.559. The industrial sales of
Maruti Suzuki in the year March 2008 were Rs.20070.9 crore which is 23.26% greater than
previous year. It concluded that in today’s scenario the success of company lies in structuring
and restructuring the marketing strategies and continuous innovation of product and service.

Singh and Srivatava (2013) study showed various factors affecting customer satisfaction
towards Maruti Suzuki. Exceptional customer service results in greater customer retention,
which in turn results in higher profitability. Customer loyalty is a major contribution to
sustainable profit growth. Measuring customer satisfaction provides an indication of how
successful the organization is at providing products or services to the marketplace. It also
concluded that all the factors considered in the study have significant effect on the overall
satisfaction of the customers. It conducted that satisfaction levels for pricing attributes (such
as Car price, discounts and service charges) are generally lower than product related
attributes.

Ranjith and Snekalatha (2013) focused on the customer’s brand loyalty and satisfaction
towards Maruti car. Maruti Suzuki India Limited is India’s leading & largest passenger car
manufacturer which accounting for nearly 50 per cent of the total industry sales. Customer
loyalty is a major contribution to sustainable profit growth to achieve success. This study
found that Maruti Udyog Ltd has various brands of car, but majority of respondent prefer
Omni. They are satisfied with price, band, image, convenience, appearance quality and
require less maintenance cost.

Parthian and Rajendran (2014) study was carried on customer preference toward Maruti
Suzuki. Main aim of this study was to understand the mind of customers whether they was
eager and satisfied to handle. Even though most of the customers were satisfied with present
model and service, few customers were not satisfied about the facilities provided by the car.
If the Maruti car service providers give enough attention

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regarding this, they can ensure a large level of customer preference.

Akhila and Thayyullathi (2015) in his study on customer satisfaction toward Maruti Suzuki
in Coimbatore found that majority of the respondents were using SUV (Sport utility vehicle)
type cars. They found that Maruti Suzuki cars were the best and fast moving brands. There
were increasing trend because of easy handling, safety, security and high performance, which
makes the advanced technologies to adopt new model.

Suganthi and Renuka (2016) focused on data collected through convenience sampling of
200 consumers of Maruti Suzuki Swift car users of Udumalpet Taluk. Later the data was
analysed with statistical tools like mean and the hypothesis was tested by using Chi-Square
analysis. Maruti Suzuki Swift is most preferred brand by the majority of the customer. It is
going to pose great challenges to other small cars in India. Most of the customers are satisfied
with the mileage and fuel efficiency of the car and they preferred Maruti Suzuki Swift.

Dhruv Mathur, Avdesh Bhardawaj (2018) in their research paper they concluded that the
buying behavior of the consumer about the car is dependent on the brand image of the car and
manufacturer. Also, the engine type and efficiency with the strong advertising are the most
dominant factors which influence the potential consumers. So, the manufacturer needs to
maintain the quality and positioning the brand image in the mind of consumer with the use of
an advertising and marketing which is important factor.

Dr. R. Menaka, K. Ashath (2014) in their research paper concluded that the continuous
changes in the lifestyle of consumers have reason for the change in the market which leads to
the globalization and integration of economies. The new consumers are difficult to segment
by conventional demographic tools unless the buying behavior of the consumer is fully
understood. Decision on product design, product variants, branding and distribution channels
responds if the consumer preferences are predicted up to a certain extent and proper analysis
of the preferences of consumers, they implement their decisions in order to satisfy the
consumer in long run.

Dr Sukhvir Singh, Mr Inderpreet Singh (2018) in their research paper concluded that
discounts and other offers given by companies more attract to the customers and influence the
customers to buy the product and also concluded that the customers are fully satisfied with
Maruti’s promotional efforts and are well aware of the cars offered by Maruti. As per the
analysis found that majority of the customers are using the specific brand for a very long

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period of time which concluded that consumer does not switch easily from one brand to
another.

C. S. Gowtham Chakravarthy, Ankit Kumar (2018) in their research paper they found that
customer behavior study is based on consumer buying behavior, with the customer playing
the three distinct roles of user, payer and buyer. It blends elements from psychology,
sociology, social anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the buyer decision
making process, both individually and in groups. Its studies characteristics of Individual
customers such as demographics and behavioral variables in an attempt to understand
people's wants. It also tries to assess influences on the customer from groups such as family,
friends, reference groups, and society in general. Relationship marketing is an influential
asset for customer behavior analysis. A greater importance is also placed on customer
retention, customer relationship management, personalization, customization and one-to-one
marketing.

Ranjan V Bhosle & Dr Shipra Bhatia in their research paper they found that consumer
wants the qualitative product at the lower or reasonable price and the Maruti is one who
stated their business very early and taking into consideration the consumer buying behavior
became one of the bigger manufacturers and seller. The author concluded that people want
reliable, affordable, value for money and have great service network cars and Maruti cars
provided all these things to their customer. Due to this Maruti cars create a perception of
consumers about them and divert the consumer attitude toward the Maruti car and thus
consumer prefer to buy Maruti cars over other brands of cars.

Dr. (Smt) N. Kamala, Smt. S. Arumuga Selvi (2020) in their study conclude that “Maruti
Suzuki” car manufacturers play a major role in the automobile industry and there are more
competitors like Hyundai, Honda, and Ford etc. But Maruti identify the factors that influence
consumers to buy Maruti Suzuki car. Company introduce new cars with latest technologies to
attract their consumers. After sales service will be considered as an important aspect before
purchasing car. Hence, they focused on after sale service at lower cost than others
competitors.

Dr. M. A. Lokhande, Vishal Sunil Rana in their research paper they concluded that easy
availability of vehicle finance with attractive rate of interest and convenient instalments
Indian passenger car Industry grow speedily. The reason behind it is that the cutthroat
competition has forced the manufacturer to be innovative and responsive to the demand and

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need of customer and Maruti-Suzuki capture a wide market share due to its innovative
strategic marketing, promotion & brand positioning, advertising strategies and substantial
structuring and restructuring the strategies and uniqueness of products and services.

Dr. Gayatri Chopra (2018) in their study key finding was that there is no difference in the
consumer preference across these two brands on attributes such as color, interiors and after
sales service. However, the preferences of the customers varied on factors like resale value
and price. The key recommendation of the research is about adopting innovative techniques
by both these brands to distinguish themselves in the market and establish higher brand
equity. Maruti and Hyundai both give cut-throat competition to each other in the automobile
industry and are well established and trusted by their users. So, in order to get ahead of their
competitor, they would have to opt for a marketing strategy that is fresh and innovative
enough to lure more customers from the market since the customers that are already using
their respective services are well satisfied with each of their performances.

Dr. Vishal S. Rana, Dr. M. A. Lokhande (2015) their study concludes that proper customer
care strategy plays vital role in satisfying & delighting the customers. One could say that it is
much more expensive to acquire new customers than retain current ones, as the costs
associated with the customer recruitment are higher than those connected with customer
retention. The automobile companies if wants to retain their customers for long should focus
on appropriate marketing mix.

Ravi Kumar (2018) in their study brings out a clear picture between the consumer
preference in context of Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki cars on different parameters such as
price of the car, fuel efficiency and maintenance, after sales service, financial services offered
by the company for purchase, performance and resale value of the car. It was found that only
in context of maintenance and performance there is a significant change in consumer
preference between Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors Cars. Much to the credit of excellent
service centers, a longer durability of Maruti Suzuki cars and adequately trained it can be
concluded that as per the consumers in Central India Maruti Suzuki cars score more than Tata
Motors cars.

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 Chapter-3
CONCEPTUAL
STUDY

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2.1 The Company

This Code of Ethics defines the set of commitments of MARUTI SUZUKI Joint stock
company with sole shareholder (hereafter “MARUTI SUZUKI”) with respect to its
stakeholders (i.e. all subjects, as individuals, groups and organizations which have significant
relationships with the company, from which specific or generic legitimate interests could
derive); it includes and identifies clear and transparent principles and values which inspire the
pursuit of its mission, pointing out tools and means necessary to ensure that they are
respected.

It is an integral part of the Organization and Management Model, as defined by Legislative

Decree no. 231 dated June 8th, 2001 (hereafter the Decree). The Code of Ethics contains
principles and values essential for MARUTI SUZUKI which, therefore, undertakes to comply
with them and requires that they be respected by its employees, contractors and suppliers as
well as whoever has dealings with the company (or stakeholders). The respect for principles
and values illustrated in this Code of Ethics is aimed not only at allowing proper operations
of MARUTI SUZUKI, but also at guaranteeing its reputation and reliability.

The behaviour of persons having dealings with MARUTI SUZUKI must be market firstly by
honesty. Regardless of differing cultures and customs, honest behaviour will always be
appreciated and is widely considered to be an attitude of inestimable value.

2.2 Mission of the Company

The goal of MARUTI SUZUKI is represented by creation of value for its shareholders in
observance of the principles established in the Code of Ethics. The mission of MARUTI
SUZUKI is to operate with maximum transparency and in compliance with law, with the
constant goal of always pursuing excellence in its products and/or services.

MARUTI SUZUKI bases its business on principles of corporate responsibility, with the main
purpose of creating value for all stakeholders (including customers, employees, investors,
suppliers, Public Administration and Authorities which are requested to supervise the sectors
where the company operates).

In order to pursue its goal, MARUTI SUZUKI:

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  undertakes to respect and ensure respect of the laws in force in the countries where it
operates, along with the generally accepted ethical principles, in line with standards of
transparency, honesty and loyalty;

 condemns illegal and improper behaviour aimed at achieving its business goals, which
are pursued exclusively through the quality and affordability obits products and
services, which are the result of many years of activity based upon experience,
attention to customer needs, and innovation;

 adopts every tool and every necessary precaution to prevent the violation of legal
provisions, on the basis of principles of transparency, fairness and loyalty of its
employees and contractors, and ensures respect and enforcement of these principles;

 ensures the market, investors and the community in general, full transparency in
relation to its activities;

 Practices fair competition, in the interests not only of MARUTI SUZUKI, but also
those of the market and of the stakeholders.

2.3 Scope of the Code of Ethics and its Recipients

The Code of Ethics has been prepared in order to clearly determine the set of principles and
values on which the activity of MARUTI SUZUKI is founded, which must be observed by
managers, employees, contractors, directors, statutory and independent auditors, stakeholders
and everyone involved, for whatever reason, in relations with the company, who shall work
in compliance with it (hereinafter also the "Recipients").

MARUTI SUZUKI shall neither initiate nor continue relations with those who donor intends
to comply with the principles contained in this Code of Ethics. The Code of Ethics is based
on the belief by MARUTI SUZUKI that the adoption of behaviour based on ethical principles
is crucial to the success of the company.

Consequently, MARUTI SUZUKI bases its internal and external activities on the observance
of the principles contained in this Code of Ethics, which is fundamental component of the

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organization model implemented. The Code of Ethics is also crucial to the purpose of the
proper enforcement of preventive control pursuant to the Risk Management Model envisaged
by Legislative Decree no. 231 dated June 8th, 2001, supporting ethical principles and
behavioural guidelines which integrate the risk management system envisaged by Legislative
Decree no. 231 dated June 8th, 2001.

2.4 Ethical principles:

Recipients are required to strictly comply with the ethical principles set out below.

Legality:-

Recipients must adapt their behaviour to the laws in force in the countries where MARUTI
SUZUKI and the Recipients themselves operate, including Eland international laws where
applicable. MARUTI SUZUKI operates incompliance with the regulations in force. Within
their respective duties, every Recipient shall know and observe the provisions of
international, EU, national, regional and local authorities, with particular reference to rules
concerning corporate law, protection of individual personality, health and safety in the
workplace.

Impartiality:

In the decisions that affect relationships with stakeholders (e.g. selection of customers,
relations with shareholders, management of personnel, selection of suppliers, relations with
the community and institutions), MARUTI SUZUKI avoids all discrimination based on the
age, gender, sexuality, health, race, nationality, political opinions or religious beliefs of its
interlocutors.

Fairness in situations of conflict of interest:

While conducting any activity, Recipients must avoid to be involved in situations that may
even appear as conflicts of interest with MARUTI SUZUKI.A conflict of interest is a case in
which one of the Recipients pursues an interest other than that of MARUTI SUZUKI, takes
personal advantage of business opportunities of which he has become aware while working
for the company, or acts contrary to the duties of loyalty and trust which are to be applied
with regards to MARUTI SUZUKI.

Value of individuals:
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The staff and its collaborators represent an add9+ed value for MARUTI SUZUKI, to be
promoted and defended, in order to improve and increase the company’s overall experience
and know-how.

Commitment, diligence and accuracy while performing tasks, obligations and duties:

Recipients undertake to diligently and meticulously perform every assignment and task
expected from them and to honour their commitments arising from contracts and obligations.

Transparency and completeness of communications and information:

Recipients are required to provide complete, transparent, understandable and accurate

information. MARUTI SUZUKI undertakes to ensure that stakeholders are always in a
position, based on the information supplied to them, to make informed decisions.

Responsibility in business:

MARUTI SUZUKI ensures that its business conduct is based on the observance of principles
of integrity and transparency. Every action, transaction, negotiation and conduct of business
in general should be based on the utmost correctness, with the exclusion of every possible
form of corruption and favouritism.

Accuracy in the interpretation of rules:

In the event of doubt concerning the proper interpretation of laws and regulations, Recipients
shall request the opinion of the competent corporate function through the appropriate
channels.

2.5 Transparency and documentation of decision-making processes:

All actions and operations carried out by or in the interests of MARUTI SUZUKI must be
adequately recorded and verification of the relative decision making process, authorization
and performance must be possible. Every operation must be accompanied by adequate
supporting documentation in order to allow, at any time, the performance of checks to certify
the characteristics and motivations of the operation and to identify those who authorized,
performed, recorded and checked it.

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2.6 RELATIONS WITH EMPLOYEES:

Employees must behave honestly and responsibly towards the company and all those in
contact with it, in observance of its internal procedures and policy. In the event of difficulty
in their work, employees shall inform their manager in order to avoid making mistakes or
running into embarrassing situations. Employees must respect their manager, following the
instructions received, but comparing their own ideas with those of the manager is important
and will be appreciated.

Employees must inform their supervisors about significant facts or events in conflict with this
Code of Ethics. This will allow the company management to immediately monitor critical
situations, taking responsibility for them. Employees must also behave honestly and correctly
in their everyday life outside the workplace. This contributes to projecting a correct company
image.

2.7 Relations with Public Administration and Public Authorities:

Offering money or gifts to executives, officers or employees of Italian or foreign Public

Administration or their relatives is not allowed, except in the case of gifts or benefits of
modest value. Illicit payments made directly by Italian, foreign, Euro transactional entities, or
by their employees, as well as illicit payments made by persons acting on behalf of such
entities in Italy and abroad, will be considered as acts of corruption.

Offering or accepting any item, object, service or favour is forbidden, if finalized at obtaining
favourable treatment within relations with the Public Administration. In countries where it is
common to offer gifts to clients or others, it is possible to-do so when these gifts are of an
appropriate nature and are of modest value, always in compliance with the law. This must
never be interpreted as a search for favours.

During any business negotiation, request or relationship with the Public Administration,
personnel must not attempt to improperly influence the decisions of the counterpart,
including those of officers acting or taking decisions on behalf of the Public Administration.

In the specific case of a tender with the Public Administration, it is necessary toast in
accordance with regulations and fair trade practices. If MARUTI SUZUKI is assisted by a
consultant or a third party instructed to represent the company against the Public

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Administration, it should be established that the same directives applied to MARUTI
SUZUKI be applied to the consultant and the consultant's staff, or to the third party.
MARUTI SUZUKI cannot be represented against the Public Administration by subjects who
may generate situations of conflicting interest.

During a business negotiation, administrative procedure (requests, claims)

 or business relationship with the Public Administration, the following actions shall
not be initiated:

 considering or offering employment and/or business opportunities which could be of

personal benefit to P.A. employees;

 offering or providing gifts in any way;

 Soliciting or obtaining confidential information, which could compromise the

integrity or reputation of both parties.

Any violation generated by MARUTI SUZUKI or any third party shall be promptly reported
to appropriate internal functions. MARUTI SUZUKI undertakes to comply fully and strictly
with the rules established by the public authorities responsible for overseeing the observance
of the legislation in force, providing full cooperation and transparency. MARUTI SUZUKI
SPA will not delay, deny or conceal any information or communication which might be
requested by public regulatory authorities, including requests made as part of their public
inspection activities. MARUTI SUZUKI will work diligently to avoid situations of
conflicting interest with executives and employees of any public regulatory authority and
their families.

2.8 Relations with Customers:

In keeping with the protection of interests of its customers, MARUTI SUZUKI shall
endeavour to avoid the arising of conflicts of interest, even if only potential, which may lead
to doubts about its integrity and professionalism. In compliance with legal provisions and
regulations, any conflict of interest, even if only potential, will be communicated to
customers. MARUTI SUZUKI pursues the aim of satisfying its customers by providing
quality products and services at reasonable prices and conditions, in full compliance with the
rules and regulations enforced in the markets in which it is active.

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MARUTI SUZUKI undertakes not to discriminate against its customers in anyway and to
ensure that courtesy, care, fairness and clarity of communication are distinguishing features
of the company in dealings with customers.

2.9 Relations with Suppliers:

In its procurement policy, MARUTI SUZUKI aims to purchase products, materials, works
and services at the most favourable conditions in terms of quality/price ratio. This objective
must be combined with the need to enter into relations with suppliers that ensure operating
procedures that are compatible with respect for human rights, employee rights and the
environment. In order to achieve this, MARUTI SUZUKI requires suppliers to refrain, for
example, from using child labour and from discrimination, abuse or coercion to the detriment
of workers, and to comply with environmental legislation, also adopting corporate policies to
limit consumption of raw materials, reduce waste and emissions and, generally, to limit the
environmental impact of production. While emphasizing the creation of stable partnership
relations with its suppliers, MARUTI SUZUKI regularly reviews its supplier list in order to
rationalize and increase cost effectiveness and efficiency. The opportunity to compete to offer
products/services must not be precluded to any potential supplier having the necessary
requirements. With respect to all supplies, including turnkey and consultancy contracts, the
reasons for choice and considerations on the price applied must be adequately formalized and
documented, in accordance with company procedures.

Employees in charge of purchases shall not accept any gift or other benefit that may create
embarrassment, influence their choices or give rise to the suspicion that their conduct is not
transparent or impartial. Gifts of little value are permitted in compliance with company
tradition and in observance of company policies.

2.10 Relations with Personnel:

The selection of personnel to hire is carried out on the basis of matching candidates' profiles
with expectations and business needs, in observance of equal opportunities for all applicants.
The information required is strictly related to the professional profile and the psychological
aptitudes required by MARUTI SUZUKI, with respect for the candidate's privacy and
opinions, without giving prominence to factors relating to kinship and acquaintances of the
candidate. Members of staff are employed with a proper employment contract and improper

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forms of employment will not be tolerated. At the start of the employment relationship, the
person hired receives full and complete information about the characteristics of the role and
duties to be performed, regulations and salary related aspects as set forth by the National
Collective Labour Agreement (CCNL), and rules and procedures to be adopted in order to
avoid possible health risks arising from the work to be performed. MARUTI SUZUKI avoids
every form of discrimination in relation to its staff. Within the scope of staff management and
development processes, decisions are made on the basis of correspondence between expected
and actual skills, or of considerations relating strictly to excellence. Access to roles or
positions is also established in consideration of skills and capabilities; in addition, compatibly
with overall working efficiency, forms of organization of work which facilitate the
management of maternity and child care are favoured.

Personnel management policies are communicated to all employees in the manner deemed
most appropriate. Persons in charge shall ensure that all members of the workforce of
MARUTI SUZUKI are allowed to achieve their full potential, informing employees and
contractors of their respective strengths and weaknesses, so as to enable them to plan their
own professional growth in a targeted way, in compliance with the system of staff training
organized by MARUTI SUZUKI.

2.11 Relations with Third Parties:

During the employment relationship, the offer of gifts or free services to private third parties
must be considered and assessed with the utmost caution. If they fall within the scope of
habitual interpersonal relationships, both must respect reasonable limits and have symbolic
value.

Even in countries where it is common to offer gifts to clients or to other parties as a sign of
courtesy, such gifts must reflect an appropriate nature and do not conflict with legal
provisions. In any case, they must not be interpreted as are quest for favours to be returned. In
critical cases, the recipient must promptly report to MARUTI SUZUKI. While employed, no
employee may require or accept, directly or through family members, money, gifts and other
benefits for himself/herself or others, if it could affect, or even let imagine to affect his/her
business decisions. In any case, gifts and benefits must not exceed the habitual limits and
must have symbolic value. In critical cases, the recipient must promptly report to MARUTI
SUZUKI.
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Grants and loans for political purposes and care services must remain within the limits
permitted by law and authorized in advance by the Board of Directors. MARUTI SUZUKI
does not pay contributions to organizations if there is risk of conflict of interest (e.g.: trade
unions, consumer associations). Collaboration with these parties is, however, possible if this
can help in the pursuit of the mission of MARUTI SUZUKI.

2.12 Transparency of Accounting:

In accordance with their respective functions and responsibilities, Recipients shall ensure that
facts relating to the management of MARUTI SUZUKI are represented truthfully and fairly
in corporate accounting. Documents certifying accounting records and activities shall allow a
rapid reconstruction of the accounting transactions, the identification of any possible error as
well as the degree of responsibility within the single operating process.

In line with their respective functions and responsibilities, Recipients are obliged to check the
correctness and accuracy of accounting records and report any error, omission and/or
falsification to those responsible. MARUTI SUZUKI instructs its managers, employees and
contractors so that truthfulness, completeness, timeliness and clarity are constantly
guaranteed, both inside and outside of MARUTI SUZUKI, along with the utmost accuracy in
the preparation of data and information.

To do this, each operation or transaction must be accurately and timely recorded in the
general ledger of the company, in accordance with the legal criteria and on the basis of
applicable accounting principles; each operation or transaction must be authorized, verifiable,
legitimate, consistent and fair. In order to have accounting compliant with the requirements
of truthfulness, completeness and transparency in relation to the figures recorded, MARUTI
SUZUKI must keep adequate and complete documentation relating to the activity performed,
in order to allow:

(i) the accurate accounting record of each operation;

(ii) the immediate determination of the characteristics and reasons for it;

(iii) the easy formal reconstruction of the operation, also from a chronological point of
view;

(iv) the verification of the decision-making process, authorization and

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Performance, as well as the identification of the various levels of responsibility and control .
Each accounting record shall reflect exactly what is shown in the supporting documentation.
Therefore, it is the duty of each appointed employee or contractor to ensure that the
supporting documentation is readily available and arranged in a logical order and in
compliance with corporate policies and procedures. In the absence of authorization, no one
may make any kind of payment in the interest of MARUTI SUZUKI using Company funds
and no one may collect and hold funds, including foreign funds, not recorded in the official
accounts.

Employees of MARUTI SUZUKI who become aware of any omissions, falsifications or

negligence in the accounting records or in the supporting documentation are required to
immediately report to their supervisor. Should the report be ignored or should the employee
feel uncomfortable contacting his/her supervisor to make the report, the employee shall report
to the supervisory and administrative body.

2.13 Protection of corporate assets:

MARUTI SUZUKI shall ensure that the use of available resources in accordance with the
regulations currently in force and with the contents of the Articles of Association, and in line
with principles of the Code of Ethics, aims to guarantee, enhance and strengthen the
corporate assets, to protect MARUTI SUZUKI SPA, its shareholders, creditors and the
market.

To protect the integrity of the corporate assets, returning contributions, in any form, or
releasing shareholders from the obligation to accomplish them Is specifically forbidden,
except in the cases expressly permitted by law; similarly, the distribution of profits not
actually earned or destined to the legal reserve, roof reserves which are not distributable by
law, is also forbidden, as are reductions of share capital, mergers and spin-offs in violation of
rules protecting creditors, the fictitious formation or increase of the share capital, and the
satisfaction of the claims of shareholders to the detriment of creditors, in the event of
liquidation.

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2.14 Corporate disclosure, relevant communications and market
solicitation:

Within the limits established by the laws in force and in line with the provisions of the
organizational model, MARUTI SUZUKI provides the information, clarification, data and
documentation requested by shareholders, customers, suppliers, any public regulatory
authorities, institutions, bodies, agencies another stakeholders in the pursuit of their
respective functions in a timely and prompt manner.

All relevant corporate information must be reported promptly to the corporate bodies
responsible for the control of company management and to the appropriate regulatory
authorities.

By way of the procedures and functions outlined in the internal protocols, MARUTI SUZUKI
guarantees access to information and transparency in relation to the decisions made, to all
those who are legitimately interested in knowledge of corporate events and the expected
evolution of its economic and financial position. With reference to shareholders, phenomena
or situations relevant to the activity and the expected evolution of the company must be
communicated promptly. Particular attention and accuracy are paid to the dissemination of
communications relevant to the activity of MARUTI SUZUKI, which can have a significant
impact on the business or on the company’s credibility and reliability.

2.15 Relationship with the Board of Auditors, with external Auditors and
other corporate bodies:

MARUTI SUZUKI employees and directors are required to ensure full cooperation and
transparency in contacts they could be requested to have with the Board of Auditors, the
independent auditors and the shareholders for the control activities performed by them.

In particular, MARUTI SUZUKI employees must refrain from any conduct or omission,
which may result in a refusal to statutory or independent auditors or shareholders, or which
may prevent the monitoring and supervision by statutory or independent auditors or
shareholders, during their audit activities.

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2.16 Safety at work:

MARUTI SUZUKI shall disclose principles and fundamental criteria used to make decisions
of every kind and at every level, in relation to health and safety at work. These shall be
disclosed in the Risk Assessment Document formally approved by management. The
principles and criteria which drive MARUTI SUZUKI in making decisions relating to
workplace safety, in accordance with the provisions of art. 6, p.1 and 2 of European Directive
89/391 are:

 avoiding risks;

 assessing risks which cannot be avoided;

 resolving risks at their origin;

 adapting the type of work to people, particularly with regard to the design of
workplaces and the choice of work equipment, and of work and production methods,
with a particular view to alleviating monotonous and repetitive work and to reduce the
effects of these jobs on health;

 taking into account the degree of technical progress;

 replacing what is dangerous with what is not dangerous or is less dangerous;

 planning prevention, aiming at a coherent complex which integrates technology, work

organization, working conditions, social relationships and the influence of work
environment factors;

 prioritising collective protective measures over individual protective measures;

 Giving appropriate instructions to workers.

2.17 ALM - Anti-money Laundering:

MARUTI SUZUKI undertakes to comply with all rules and regulations, both national and
international, on money laundering.

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MARUTI SUZUKI employees and contractors shall not, in any way and under any
circumstances, receive or accept the promise of cash payments or run the risk of becoming
involved in events related to the laundering of money from illegal or criminal activities.

Before establishing deals or signing contracts with non-occasional suppliers and with other
partners in long-term business relationships, MARUTI SUZUKI must ensure the moral
integrity, reputation and good name of the trading partner.

2.18 Cybercrime:

In the activities carried out on behalf of MARUTI SUZUKI, Recipients shall not provide
false information - and will take every necessary precaution to avoid it in any public
electronic document having official value.

I Recipients may not have access to the MARUTI SUZUKI information or

telecommunication system protected by security measures, other than within the limits of the
authorizations granted by those responsible and with adequate powers for these activities.
Recipients will also refrain from unlawfully holding and disseminating credentials for
accessing the computer systems of MARUTI SUZUKI that may be in their possession for
reasons related to their assignment with MARUTI SUZUKI. Recipients are obliged to use
credentials, passwords or other means to access a computer system protected by security
measures only within the limits and for the specific purposes deriving from and required for
their jobs or their contractual obligations, without duplicating them copying, disseminating or
communicating them. They shall refrain from damaging the information system of MARUTI
SUZUKI (or belonging to other entities, during activities carried out on behalf of MARUTI
SUZUKI), as well as information, data or programs, and from encouraging the total or partial
interruption or alteration of its operations.

Recipients are forbidden from intercepting communications addressed to the computer

system of MARUTI SUZUKI (or of other entities, during activities carried out on behalf of
MARUTI SUZUKI) or communications between two systems, and from preventing or
interrupting such communications; from installing devices capable of intercepting, preventing
or interrupting communications relating to a computer or telecommunications system, or
between multiple systems.

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Recipients must refrain from destroying, damaging, deleting, altering or suppressing
information, data or computer programs which are the property of other entities or of the
government or are of public utility, respecting the terms of the contract contained in the
relative licenses and using them to the extent and within the limits defined by the respective
owners.

Lastly, Recipients undertake not to introduce into the computer system of MARUTI SUZUKI
or to transfer out of the information system of MARUTI SUZUKI data, information or
programs which might destroy or damage the computer system of MARUTI SUZUKI or of
other entities, or information systems of public interest, or which might make them fully or
partially useless (or severely obstacle their operation).

2.19 Offences against the Person:

Recipients undertake to comply with the national, EU and international regulations in force in
defence of individual personality, integrity and dignity of the person, particularly in case of
minors.

2.20 Molestation or mobbing in the workplace:

MARUTI SUZUKI favours initiatives aimed at creating working methods based on achieving
better organizational well-being. MARUTI SUZUKI requires all internal and external
working relations to be free from molestation and attitudes which may be related to mobbing,
such actions being strictly forbidden without exception. These include:

 creating an intimidator, hostile working environment, with isolation and

discrimination of individuals or groups of workers;

 unwarranted interference with the work of others;

 preventing others from realising their working potential as a matter of personal rivalry
or to favour others;

Every form of violence or molestation is it sexual or related to personal and cultural diversity
is forbidden.

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These include:

 subjecting any decision of relevance to the recipient's working life to the acceptance
of sexual favours or to personal and cultural diversity;

 using authority to encourage subordinates to grant sexual favours;

 proposing private interpersonal relations, despite the express or reasonably evident

displeasure of the other party;

 Hinting at disability and physical or psychic handicap or to forms of cultural or

religious diversity, or sexual orientation.

2.21 Protection and promotion of diversity:

MARUTI SUZUKI strongly believes that making the most of differences and encouraging
acceptance and inclusion in the workplace of those representing new worlds, cultures and
identities is an excellent opportunity. Being inconstant harmony with the market means
ensuring that the organization fully reflects the heterogeneity of its Customers and
Employees, in the broadest sense. The commitment that MARUTI SUZUKI maintains is not
limited to considering diversity as an element to be simply accepted and protected, betas a
characteristic of the organization to promote and exalt, with determination and courage.
MARUTI SUZUKI therefore ensures the same opportunities forestry and professional growth
for everyone within its organisations, eliminating every possibility of direct or indirect
discrimination based on individual characteristics, such as gender, ability, age, marital status,
ethnic or social origin, faith, sexual or political orientation.

2.22 Fight against racism and xenophobia:

MARUTI SUZUKI intends to hinder and combat racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other
forms of intolerance by taking appropriate preventative measures, promoting a climate of
tolerance and mutual respect among its employees, collaborators (in any capacity) and
directors; it hinders the establishment of any form of prejudice and discrimination based on
ethnic origin and race, but also that based on colour, language, religion, nationality and
national origin.

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MARUTI SUZUKI undertakes to prevent initiatives that might generate xenophobic
atmosphere, contrast the dissemination of racist ideas in the workplace, condemn every act of
racial violence and take appropriate steps to combat such acts

2.23 Fair competition:

MARUTI SUZUKI intends to practice fair competition, refraining from anticompetitive

behaviour, based on collusion or abuse of a dominant position.

2.24 Privacy and obligations of Recipients:

In compliance with EU Regulation 2016/679 and the legislation currently in force, all data
acquired or processed by the Recipients, appointed as External Data Processors, may not be
communicated or disseminated without the express authorization of MARUTI SUZUKI
(Data Controller). Each Recipient appointed by the External Data Processor shall observe the
instructions issued by the Data Controller in the appointment.

In particular:

 process only

 in full compliance with EU Regulation 2016/679 and applicable legislation, using

suitable technical and organisational security measures to minimize the risk of data
breach (i.e. accidental, unauthorized or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration,
disclosure or access of data)

 inform the Data Controller in advance and obtain his written consent to identify a sub-
data processor, undertaking to impose upon the latter, where authorized by the Data
Controller, the same obligations that he is required to fulfil in his relationship with the
Data Controller;

 Interrupt every data processing operation and immediately return the data or, with the
authorization of the Data Controller, destroy them (except in thecae of conservation
requirements imposed by law), in the event of termination, for whatever reason, of the
effectiveness of the appointment as External Data Processor.

Furthermore, Recipients qualified as Autonomous or Joint Data Controllers must process the
data in full compliance with EU Regulation 2016/679 and applicable legislation.

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2.25 Privacy and obligations of the Company:

The activity of MARUTI SUZUKI requires data processing, considered as any operation or
set of operations carried out with or without electronic tools, concerning the collection,
recording, organization, storage, consultation, processing, amendment, selection, extraction,
comparison, interconnection, usage, block, communication, dissemination, deletion and
destruction of data, even if not registered in a database, to be subject to the protection of
Deregulation 2016/679 and current legislation on privacy. MARUTI SUZUKI is particularly
sensitive to the need to process data according to the principles of lawfulness, correctness,
transparency, purpose limitation, data minimization, precision, storage limitation, integrity
and confidentiality.

In particular, Maruti Suzuki operates in full compliance with EU Regulation2016/679 and

current legislation on privacy by adopting a Privacy Management System in line with the
reference legislation.

Specific security measures are observed to prevent loss, misuse or incorrect use of data
handled by MARUTI SUZUKI and/or unauthorized access to the company website.
Processing of personal data is allowed only to authorized personnel and in compliance with
the rules and procedures established in accordance with local regulations. MARUTI SUZUKI
is committed to protect information and data relating to Recipients and third parties and to
avoid any misuse of them.

2.26 Protection of reports (whistle blowing):

MARUTI SUZUKI promotes the prevention and verification of all unlawful conduct or
conduct contrary to the Code of Ethics and Conduct. MARUTI SUZUKI encourages
Recipients to promptly inform the Supervisory Body of any illegal conduct or conduct
contrary to the Code of Ethics and Conduct, of which they become aware as a result of their
relations with MARUTI SUZUKI.

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MARUTI SUZUKI does not tolerate threats or retaliation of any kind against the reporter or
those who have helped check the validity of the report. MARUTI SUZUKI guarantees the
anonymity of the reporter, even though his/her personal details are provided, and reserves the
right to take appropriate action against anyone who takes or threatens to take retaliatory
action against those who have submitted reports. The reporting party is responsible for
making reports in good faith: reports that are evidently false or completely unfounded,
opportunistic and/or made with the sole aim of damaging the reported party or parties
affected by the report will not be taken into consideration.

2.27 Sanctions:

Failure by Recipients to comply with the rules of the Code of Ethics generates without
prejudice to any right to compensation for any damage arising from such failure. Compliance
with the Code of Ethics by the Recipients is additional to the general duties of loyalty,
correctness and execution of the contract in good faith, and also is relevant to Art. 2104 of the
Civil Code (Diligence of the worker).Violations of the provisions of the Code of Ethics
constitute a breach of the obligations arising from the working relationship, with every
contractual and legal consequence, also with reference to their relevance as a disciplinary
infringement and/or to the continuation of the working relationship. For violations of the
Code of Ethics committed by contractors of MARUTI SUZUKI, the sanctions defined in the
respective contracts will be applied.

MARUTI SUZUKI undertakes to establish and enforce sanctions proportionate to the

severity of the breaches committed, in observance of the provisions of the company’s
disciplinary system and procedures of the specific National Collective Labour Agreement
(CCNL). In particular, violations of the provisions and principles established in the Code of
Ethics may result in the application of sanctions and/or additional measures, including those
of a precautionary nature, expressly mentioned in the Organizational Model pursuant to
Legislative Decree no. 231 dated June 8th, 2001. Violations of the Code of Ethics by
members of corporate bodies may lead to the adoption, by the competent corporate bodies, of
the measures deemed most suitable among those defined by law.

2.28 Advertising of the Code of Ethics and training of employees:

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Dissemination of this Code of Ethics and of corporate procedures among Recipients is
ensured through appropriate means of communication. MARUTI SUZUKI ensures the
publication of the Code of Ethics on the internet, on the company website.

MARUTI SUZUKI ensures that the Code of Ethics will be effectively enforced by means of
an ongoing promotion of the most appropriate initiatives of communication, training and
advisory support, supplied to Recipients. The Code of Ethics is publicly available on the
company website.

The Code of Ethics is subject to verification and update on a yearly basis. Each update,
amendment and/or integration of the Code of Ethics will be approved by the Board of
Directors of MARUTI SUZUKI and promptly communicated to all Recipients by the means
deemed most appropriate.

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Chapter-4
COMPANY
PROFILE

31 | P a g e
1.1 Introduction of the company

Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL, formerly known as Maruti Udyog Limited) is a
subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation. Car market leader, Maruti Suzuki, lovingly also
referred to as the people's car-maker, completed 25 years of an illustrious history 3 years
back on 14th December 2008.

On 14th December, 1983, first Maruti 800, India's iconic car rolled-off the assembly line at
company's Gurgaon plant. Late Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, handed
over keys for this car to the first Maruti customer. Since then, Maruti Suzuki has produced
and sold around 75 lakh (7.5 million) cars to address the needs of customers across segments.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Shinzo Nakanishi, Managing Director and CEO, Maruti
Suzuki India Limited said, "The Government of India had entrusted the company a
responsibility of building low cost, fuel efficient cars for the people of India as also building
firm foundation for the modernization and growth of Indian automobile industry.

Thanks to the support of our stakeholders, we have successfully led the automobile revolution
in India. It is a time for us to thank everyone who helped us in our journey so far. Now, we
are positioning India as the global small car manufacturing hub, in line with the government's
vision."

The Indian car industry, which was represented by two companies then, was at a volume of
40,000 cars annually. The Maruti-800, symbolizing Indian middle-class aspirations,
completely revolutionized the Indian roads and ushered in an irrevocable change.

Maruti's current efforts mirror the government's vision to put India in the international map
for producing compact small cars. All over the world, Suzuki is acknowledged for its know-
how in producing small cars. The government's renewed focus on promoting small cars,
offers a major opportunity for Maruti Suzuki.

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Maruti Suzuki believes that its recent investments in two manufacturing facilities will go a
long way in establishing the company and India in the global league. These include Maruti
Suzuki's fourth car assembly plant and a state of the art diesel engine plant at Manesar, and
the fuel-efficient KB-series engine plant at Gurgaon.

The Manesar assembly plant is rated among the best Suzuki plants worldwide. The plant is
future ready and is designed to produce world-class vehicles. Maruti Suzuki also expects to
scale-up exports and the new Manesar assembly plant will contribute to this effort.

In 1990's when the economy was liberalized and foreign investment allowed into India, the
auto component companies, set up and nurtured by Maruti Suzuki, became the foundation for
global car companies as well. These new players on the Indian automobile scene found an
accomplished and experienced auto component industry, which encouraged further foreign
direct investment into India.

Presently Maruti Suzuki enjoys a strong base of around 225 vendors and many of them are
listed on stock exchanges. The good relationship of Maruti Suzuki with its associates
provides the company an edge over its competition, giving the company the flexibility to
cater to changes in market demand in minimum time.

Today, Maruti has changed the profile of the Indian market. The Swift, SX4 and recent A-star
are examples of how Maruti Suzuki has brought in contemporary technology and latest
designing for the Indian buyers.

1.2 Maruti Suzuki from Maruti Udyog

Maruti Udyog Limited is now Maruti Suzuki India Limited

Car market leader Maruti Udyog Limited now has a new name "Maruti Suzuki India
Limited". The company's new name was approved by the Registrar of Companies yesterday
and comes into effect from 17th September 2007. The company's Board of Directors had
approved "Maruti Suzuki India Limited" as the new name, in July, 2007. This was subject to
approval by the Company's shareholders. The Company's shareholders approved the new
name at the Annual General Meeting held on 6th September 2007.

In the new name, "Maruti" continues to have the predominant position. "Maruti" is one of the
strongest corporate brand names in the country, in terms of awareness, recall, trust and

33 | P a g e
customer care. This is the name that a generation of Indians has grown up with, and features
prominently on the Company's products, services and its sales and service network across the
country.

"Suzuki" in the corporate name imparts an international dimension. Besides being the parent
company, Suzuki Motor Corporation is a leading player in the global automobile market. The
leader in Japan's minicar market for over three decades, it has recently positioned itself as a
complete car maker with the success of its globally strategic models like Swift, SX4 and
Grand Vitara.

This international dimension in the Company's name will help Maruti as it looks to expand its
role in the global markets. The Company is to launch a model for export to Europe in the next
couple of years, while building on its recent success in Asian and African markets. Maruti is
also developing capabilities to assume the role of being Suzuki’s R & D hub for Asia outside
Japan.

"India" in the corporate name, while conveying the location of the Company and its facilities,
also recognizes the growing importance of the country across the world.

1.3 HISTORY

Maruti Udyog Limited was founded by the Government of India on 24 February 1981 with
Suzuki Motor Corporation as a minor partner, only to become the formal JV partner and
license holder of Suzuki in October 1982. The first manufacturing factory of Maruti was
established in Gurugram, Haryana, in the same year.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited is a publicly listed automaker in India. It is a leading four-
wheeler automobile manufacturer in South Asia. Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan holds a
majority stake in the company. It was the first company in India to mass- produce and sell

34 | P a g e
more than a million cars. It is largely credited for having brought in an automobile revolution
to India. It is the market leader in India and on 17 September 2007,

Maruti Udyog was renamed Maruti Suzuki India Limited. The company's headquarters are in
Gurgaon, Haryana (near Delhi). Maruti Suzuki is one of India's leading automobile
manufacturers and the market leader in the car segment, both in terms of volume of vehicles
sold and revenue earned. Until recently, 18.28% of the company was owned by the Indian
government, and 54.2% by Suzuki of Japan. The Indian government held an initial public
offering of 25% of the company in June 2003. As of May 10, 2007, Govt. of India sold its
complete share to Indian financial institutions. With this, Govt. of India no longer has stake in
Maruti Udyog. Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL) was established in February 1981, though the
actual production commenced in 1983 with the Maruti 800, based on the Suzuki Alto kei car
which at the time was the only modern car available in India, its' only competitors- the
Hindustan Ambassador and Premier Padmini were both around 25 years out of date at that
point. Through 2004, Maruti has produced over 5 Million vehicles.

During 2007- 08, Maruti Suzuki sold 764,842 cars, of which 53,024 were exported. In all,
over six million Maruti cars are on Indian roads since the first car was rolled out on
December 14, 1983

Maruti Suzuki offers 12 models, Maruti 800, Omni, Alto, Versa, Gypsy, A Star, Wagon R,
Zen Estilo, Swift, Swift Dzire, SX4, Grand Vitara. Swift, Swift dzire, A star and SX4 are
manufactured in Manesar, Grand Vitara is imported from Japan as a completely built unit
(CBU), remaining all models are manufactured in Maruti Suzuki's Gurgaon Plant. More than
half the numbers of cars sold in India wear a Maruti Suzuki badge. We are a subsidiary of
Suzuki Motor Corporation Japan. Suzuki Motor Corporation, the parent company, is a global
leader in mini and compact cars for three decades. Suzuki’s technical superiority lies in its
ability to pack power and performance into a compact, lightweight engine that is clean and
fuel efficient.

1.3.1 1st generation

The 1st generation (SS30V/40V), introduced in May 1979, was a 3-door cargo version of the
Fronted passenger car, equipped with a folding rear seat. On introduction, the Alto received
the T5B two-stroke 539 cc (SS30) three-cylinder engine, producing 28 PS (21 kW) at 5,500
rpm. The Alto was a "micro sensation" when introduced, largely due to its rock bottom price
of ¥470,000 (circa $1,900 in 1979, at a time when the cheapest Ford Pinto cost $4,999). This

35 | P a g e
bargain price was made possible by a number of Japanese special concessions for commercial
vehicles.

The engine did not require twin catalysts, unlike in the Fronte. Two less doors provided
another saving, as did the exemption from commodity tax. The Alto was a sensation, and
other producers such as Subaru (with the "Family Rex") quickly followed suit.

Manufacturer Suzuki

Also called Suzuki Fronte Suzuki Hatch Maruti 800

Production 1979—1984

Layout Transversal front engine, FWD or part-time 4WD

Engine 539 cc T5B two-stroke I3 543 cc F5A SOHC I3

In January 1981, the F5A four-stroke 543 cc known from the Fronte was also installed
(though with only a single-barrel carburettor), it too put out 28 PS (21 kW) but at 6,000 rpm.
Torque was considerably lower, down from 5.3 kg m (52 N m; 38 lb ft) to 4.2 kg m (41 N m;
30 lb ft). 1981 saw also the year that it became available on the United Kingdom market, as
Suzuki began selling cars there that year.

In export markets, the Alto name was used for the passenger car versions (chassis codes with
trailing letter "S") as well as on commercials (ending in "V"), while the van was marketed as
the "Suzuki Hatch" in Australia. The four-doors were not proper hatchbacks, only featuring
an opening rear window. Export cars were also available with twelve-inch wheels, unlike the
domestic versions which only used ten-inch units until the introduction of the 4WD version in
October 1983. The 4WD "Snow Liner" thus gained an extra 2.5 cm (1 in) of ground
clearance. While Suzuki held on to the two-stroke engine concept for a half decade longer
than any of its Japanese competitors, eventually market pressures and ever tightening
emissions regulations spelled its end in the Alto by September 1981. The Jimny, however,
did use the same 539 cc engine (called LJ50 in the Jimny) as late as 1987.

1.3.2 2nd generation (CA71)

The 2nd generation (CA71) was introduced in September 1984. It continued with the SS40's
F5A engine, but also became available with turbocharged and multi-valve engines thereof,

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mainly in the "Works" series. In December 1984 a 4-wheel drive version (CC71) was added.
Performance versions of the Alto first appear in 1985 when a turbocharged engine was made
available. It gradually acquired more performance-related modifications until the Works
version was introduced in February 1987. The Alto Works was the first kei - car to reach the
legal limit of 64 PS (47 kW). It acquired considerable popularity, with models of it still made
by Fujimi. A 5-door body (identical to the Fronte’s) became available in October 1985.

Manufacturer Suzuki

Also called Maruti 800 Suzuki Mehran

Production 1984-1988 (until 1993 for Europe)

Engine 543 cc F5A I3 796 cc F8B I3

Transmission 4/5-speed manual 2/3-speed automatic

Related Chang'an SC7080 Alto/City Baby JN Auto (CN) Iran Khodro Alto (IR) Peugeot JN
Mini (TN)

In July 1986 the CA/CC71 became the CA/CC72 after a rather thorough facelift. New
wraparound headlights, a new dash and interior heralded the new ITL rear suspension
(Isolated Trailing Link), a three-link rigid setup. A "Walkthrough Van" was introduced in
January 1987, while at the other end of the spectrum, the personal coupé Cervo on the
CA/CC72 base was introduced in 1988 with a new 547 cc F5B engine. In August 1987,
higher spec Altos became available with a 3-speed automatic rather than the 2-speed they had
been using before. Other markets

Europe

The 796 cc, 40 hp (30 kW) F8B-engined CA/CB91 was sold in Europe with either a 4-speed
manual or 2-speed automatic transmission. Export Altos were technically speaking Frontes,
as this was the name used for passenger versions in Japan. They received larger bumpers,
making them 105 mm (4.1 in) longer and 10 mm (0.4 in) wider. European Altos received the
same facelift as the CA/CB72 did in January 1988, unveiled at the Brussels Motor Show.
This model remained in production (latterly by Maruti Udyog) for the European market until
1993, when it was replaced by an also Maruti-built 1-litre version of the Cervo Mode.

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1.3.3 3rd generation (CL11)

The 3rd generation (CL/CM11) replaced the CA71 in September 1988. This was the last
generation of Alto to have an associated Fronte model. It had strikingly angular styling, with
an unusual glazed C-pillar on the 5-door. Another curiosity of this generation was the
availability of a version with sliding doors, the "Slide Slim", intended to simplify entering
and exiting in tight spaces. It also made egress easier for the old and the infirm. When the
Fronte name was discontinued in October 1989, the passenger car versions (CN/CP11)
became Altos. Initially the CL11 used the 12-valve 42 hp (31 kW) F5B engine known from
the SS71 Cervo, but with an added 34 hp (25 kW) 6-valve version in lower-spec versions. A
46 hp (34 kW) DOHC version was also available in the Twin Cam R l. Passenger car
versions had the same engines, but all with 2 hp less due to more stringent emissions controls.
The fuel-injected, 12-valve, turbocharged Works models came with an SOHC 58 hp (43 kW)
engine (FF S/X or 4WD S/R) or a 64 hp (48 kW) DOHC version (FF RS/X or 4WD RS/R).
The front-wheel drive Work’s were available with a 3-speed automatic in addition to the
standard 5-speed manual.

1.3.4 4th generation (HA11)

The 4th generation (HA11) appeared in 1994. The 657 cc F6A engines were joined by a new
high-performance 64 PS (47 kW) 658 cc K6A (HA21). The styling displays an interesting
blend of features: the tailgate and rear doors are still fairly angular, but the front is beginning
to be more rounded - a trend which would be continued in later years.

1.3.5 5th generation (HA12)

The 5th generation Alto (HA12/22) was introduced in October 1998. The styling was
generally more rounded, the shape of the cabin showing the Alto's relationship with the new
Suzuki Ki. The 658 cc K6A engine was now also available without a turbocharger, joining
the turbocharged version and the familiar 657 cc F6A engines. The turbocharged Works
models were available with a 60 hp F6A engine (i.e., 5MT/3AT and FF or 4WD) or a 64 hp
VVT K6A (RS/Z, 5MT and FF or 4WD). The front wheel drive RS/Z was sold with a non-
VVT K6A engine when in combination with a 4-speed automatic transmission, it too with a
claimed 64 hp. In December 2000, the Works versions were discontinued, as the Alto was
realigned as an economy version. The Suzuki Kei Sports picked up the Works' mantle.

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1.3.6 6th generation (HA24)

The 6th generation (HA24) was introduced in 2004. The bonnet and headlamps curved down
at the front, giving a similar effect to the Toyota WiLL Vi or the Citroën C2. The Alto was
re-aligned as a less costly car to accommodate new models such as the Cervo and Alto Lapin.
The more powerful engines were moved into the other more up market versions like the
Suzuki Kei Works and Alto Lapin SS, leaving the Alto with only a 54 PS (40 kW) version. In
Japan, this version of the Alto was rebadged as the Nissan Pino and Mazda Carol.

1.3.7 7th generation (2009-present)

Japan

The 7th Generation was first shown at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show alongside its sister car,
the Mazda Carol.

International

The 7th Generation is known in India as the Maruti Suzuki A-Star (short for "Alto-Star"), but
is also known as the Suzuki Celerio in some other countries. It was launched in December
2008 by the Indo-Japanese auto maker Maruti Suzuki. The car is manufactured exclusively in
Haryana, India and is exported worldwide. It is available in European markets with a
somewhat different front end as the Nissan Pixo.

Nissan Pixo

The Nissan Pixo, available in Europe since 2009 is the "sister car" to the Suzuki Alto
featuring a few obvious differences, including the main grille and headlamps. Because it is
developed and built in low-cost India, the Pixo can be bought new for just under £7,000[24]
and nearly a third of that price for a used one.

Trim Variants/Engines

The UK has 4 different trims available for the Pixo: N-Tec, Visia, Acenta and Tekna, all
available with a 1.0 L Suzuki K10B three-cylinder petrol engine - shared with the Alto and
capable of 68 hp (51 kW) and a top speed of 155 km/h (96 mph), reaching 100 km/h in 13.5
seconds. All are five door hatchbacks, with the option of a 4-speed automatic or 5-speed
manual gearbox, except the Visia, which is only available with the manual gearbox.

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1.4 Current situation – Microenvironment

Political

 The 2% hike in the excise duty announced in the Union Budget 2010-11 may result in
an increase in the prices of automobiles. The effect of this development could be
insignificant for the A4 car segment.

 The increase in the fuel price proposed in the budget would increase the burden on the
consumer but its impact on the A4 segment would be negligible.

 The increase in weighted deduction for in-house R&D to 200% from 150% and
outsourced R&D from 125% to 175% would spur industry focus on innovation, R&D
and product development that would increase the competitive ness of the industry
longer term.

 The broadening of the tax slabs would boost the disposable income in the hands of the
middle class and is a positive sign creating a larger customer base for auto sector.

 Allocation for road transport increased by over 13% from Rs 17,520 crore to Rs
19,894 crore will be a boost to the industry.

Economic

 Indian economy is expected to grow at a rate of more than 6% this year

 The A4 segment is expected to grow annually at the rate of 30% per year for the next
5 years

 The upper middle class segment is expected to grow from 3% in 2010 to 12% in 2015

 The people who fall under “rich” segment is expected to grow from 1% in 2010 to 4%
in 2015

 The Indian economy is expected to grow at more than 7% in the coming years after
the present slowdown.

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Social

 India is the 4th largest country by PPP index

 There is rapid growth in urbanization

 The mindset of the Indian consumer is changing. From wanting a compact family car
they have started to aspire for semi luxury and luxury cars.

 Indian customers are highly discerning, educated and well informed. They are price
sensitive and put a lot of emphasis on value for money

Technology

 With the flooding of global companies in the Indian market, advanced technologies,
both in product and production processes have developed.

 With the development of alternate fuels, hybrid cars have made entry into the market.

1.5 Affiliation with Suzuki

In 1982, a license and joint venture agreement (JVA) was signed between Maruti Udyog Ltd.,
and Suzuki of Japan. At first, Maruti Suzuki was mainly an importer of cars. In India's closed
market, Maruti received the right to import 40,000 fully built-up Suzuki in the first two years,
and even after that the early goal was to use only 33% indigenous parts. This upset the local
manufacturers considerably. There were also some concerns that the Indian market was too
small to absorb the comparatively large production planned by Maruti Suzuki, with the
government even considering adjusting the petrol tax and lowering the excise duty in order to
boost sales.[11] Local production commenced in December 1983 with the introduction of the
SS30/SS40 Suzuki Fronte/Alto-based Maruti 800.[12] In 1984, the Maruti Van with the same
three-cylinder engine as the 800 was released and the installed capacity of the plant in
Gurgaon reached 40,000 units.

In 1985, the Suzuki SJ410-based Gypsy, a 970 cc 4WD off-road vehicle, was launched. In
1986, the original 800 was replaced by an all-new model of the 796cc hatchback Suzuki Alto

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(SS80) and the 100,000th vehicle was produced by the company.[13] In 1987, the company
started exporting to western markets, when a lot of 500 cars were sent to Hungary. By 1988,
the capacity of the Gurgaon plant was increased to 100,000 units per annum.

1.6 Market liberalisation

In 1989, the Maruti 1000 was introduced and the 970 cc, three-box was India's first
contemporary sedan. By 1991, 65 percent of the components, for all vehicles produced, were
indigenized. After liberalization of the Indian economy in 1991, Suzuki increased its stake in
Maruti to 50 percent, making the company a 50-50 joint venture with the government of India
as the other stake holder.

In 1993, the Zen, a 993 cc engined hatchback was launched and in 1994 the 1,298 cc Esteem
sedan was introduced. Maruti produced its 1 millionth vehicle since the commencement of
production in 1994. Maruti's second plant was opened with annual capacity reaching 200,000
units. Maruti launched a 24-hour emergency on-road vehicle service. In 1998, the new Maruti
800 was released, being the first change in design since 1986. Zen D, a 1,527cc diesel
hatchback, and Maruti's first diesel vehicle, and a redesigned Omni were introduced. In 1999,
the 1.6-litre Maruti Baleno three-box sedan and Wagon R were also launched.

In 2000, Maruti became the first car company in India to launch a call center for internal and
customer services. The new Alto model was released. In 2001, Maruti True Value, selling
and buying used cars was launched. In October of the same year the Maruti Versa was
launched. In 2002, Esteem Diesel was introduced. Two new subsidiaries were also started:
Maruti Insurance Distributor Services and Maruti Insurance Brokers Limited. Suzuki Motor
Corporation increased its stake in Maruti to 54.2 per cent.

In 2003, the new Suzuki Grand Vitara XL-7 was introduced while the Zen and the Wagon R
were upgraded and redesigned. The four millionth Maruti vehicle was built and they entered
into a partnership with the State Bank of India. Maruti Udyog Ltd. was listed on BSE and
NSE after a public issue, which was oversubscribed tenfold. In 2004, the Alto became India's
best selling car overtaking the Maruti 800 after nearly two decades. The five-seater Versa 5-

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seater, a new variant, was created while the Esteem was re-launched. Maruti Udyog closed
the financial year 2003–04 with an annual sale of 472,122 units, the highest ever since the
company began operations and the fiftieth lakh (5 millionth) car rolled out in April 2005. The
1.3-litre Suzuki Swift five-door hatchback was introduced in 2005.

In 2006 Suzuki and Maruti set up another joint venture, "Maruti Suzuki Automobiles India",
to build two new manufacturing plants, one for vehicles and one for engines. Cleaner cars
were also introduced, with several new models meeting the new Bharat Stage III emission
standards. In February 2012, Maruti Suzuki sold its ten millionth vehicle in India. In July
2014 it had a market share of more 45%. In May 2015, the company produced its fifteen
millionth vehicle in India, a Swift Dzire.

On 25 April 2019, Maruti Suzuki announced that it would phase out production of diesel cars
by 1 April 2020, when the Bharat Stage VI emission standards come into effect. The new
standards would require a significant investment from the company to upgrade its existing
diesel engines to comply with the more stringent emission standards. Chairman R.C.
Bhargava stated, "We have taken this decision so that in 2022 we are able to meet the
corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFE) norms and higher share of CNG vehicles will help
us comply with the norms. I hope the union government's policies will help grow the market
for CNG vehicles." Diesel cars accounted for about 23 percent of Maruti Suzuki's annual
sales.

The company plans to launch an its first electric car in the second half of 2021, the Maruti
Suzuki WagnoR Electric and a test mule of the same has been spotted several times recently.

1.7 Joint venture related issues

Relationship between the Government of India, under the United Front (India) coalition and
Suzuki Motor Corporation over the joint venture was a point of heated debate in the Indian
media until Suzuki Motor Corporation gained the controlling stake. This highly profitable
joint venture that had a near monopolistic trade in the Indian automobile market and the
nature of the partnership built up till then was the underlying reason for most issues. The
success of the joint venture led Suzuki to increase its equity from 26% to 40% in 1987, and to
50% in 1992, and further to 56.21% as of 2013. In 1982, both the venture partners entered

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into an agreement to nominate their candidate for the post of Managing Director and every
Managing Director would have a tenure of five years.

1.8 Future of the automobile in the Economy

US based consultancy, keystone predicts that India will become world’s third largest
automobile market by 2030. Overall size expected to exceed 20 million with compounded
annual growth rate of over 12% Starting with the iconic Maruti 800, today, Maruti Suzuki
offers 12 models with over 100 variants. The company has manufactured around seven and a
half million cars in India. Of this, the Maruti 800 alone has contributed 2.7 million units since
inception in December 1983. Alto, another super-popular product from the company, recently
touched the magic figure of a million units. The company leads the automobile industry in
India with a market share of over 54% amongst passenger cars. The company has over 600
sales outlets in 393 towns and cities, along with 2,628 workshops covering 1,220 cities.
Today, Maruti Suzuki has more than 7,100 employees.

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3.1 CUSTOMER RELATIONS

For customer satisfaction maintaining customer relation is very important. So for this the
company must have CRM.

DEFINATION OF CRM

(CRM) is a term applied to processes implemented by a company to handle their contact with
their customers. CRM software issued to support these processes, storing information on
customers and prospective customers. Information in the system can be accessed and entered
by employees indifferent departments, such as sales, marketing, customer service, training,
professional development, performance management, human resource development, and
compensation.

Details on any customer contacts can also be stored in the system. The rationale behind this
approach is to improve services provided directly to customers and to use the information in
the system for targeted marketing and sales purposes. CRM stands for Customer Relationship
Management. The genesis of CRM lies in the observation that one element in competitive
advantage is the ability of companies to retain customers. Companies have moved to
implement a strategy of satisfying the customer so as to optimize potential future earnings.
This seems to be an especially valid approach considering the current Internet focus of
―your competitor is only a click away‖

WHY CRM SHOULD BE USED

In the commercial world the importance of retaining existing customers and expanding
business is paramount. The costs associated with finding new customers mean that every
existing customer could be important. The more opportunities that a customer has to conduct
business with your company the better, and one way of achieving this is by opening up
channels such as direct sales, online sales, franchises, use of agents, etc. However, the more
channels you have, the greater the need to manage your interaction with your customer base.
Customer relationship management (CRM) helps businesses to gain an insight into the
behaviour of their customers and modify their business operations to ensure that customers
are served in the best possible way. In essence, CRM helps a business to recognize the value
of its customers and to capitalize on improved customer relations. The better you understand
your customers, the more responsive you can be to their needs. CRM can be achieved by

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finding out about your customers' purchasing habits, opinions and preferences profiling
individuals and groups to market more effectively and increase sales changing the way you
operate to improve customer service and marketing Benefiting from CRM is not just a
question of buying the right software. You must also adapt your business to the needs of your
customers. CRM (customer relationship management) is an information industry term for
methodologies, software, and usually Internet capabilities that help an enterprise manage
customer relationships in an organized way. For example, an enterprise might build a
database about its customers that described relationships in sufficient detail so that
management, salespeople, people providing service, and perhaps the customer directly could
access information, match customer needs with product plans and offerings, remind
customers of service requirements, know what other products a customer had purchased and
so forth.

3.2 Customer Relationship Management by Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.

About Company:

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. is one of India's leading four-wheeler automobile manufacturers and
the market leader in the car segment, both in terms of volume of vehicles sold and revenue
earned. Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan holds a majority stake in the company. It was the
first company in India to mass-produce and sell more than a million cars. The company
headquarter is in Gurgaon, Haryana (near Delhi). More than half of the total number of cars
sold in India wears a Maruti Suzuki badge.

Product Mix:

Maruti Suzuki offers 13 models, Maruti 800, Alto, Ritz, A Star, Swift, Wagon R, Zen Estilo,
Dzire, SX4, and Grand Vitara. Swift dzire, A star and SX4 are manufactured in Manesar,
Grand Vitara is imported from Japan as a completely built unit (CBU), remaining all models
are manufactured in Maruti Suzuki's Gurgaon Plant. Sharing across marketing, sales, and
services

Customer Relationship Management:

In these competitive times the challenge is to keep inventing newer ways of doing things to
keep the customers in your fold. Over the last few years, the company strengthened the
existing practices and experimented with many new initiatives by way of kaizens (continuous
improvements) to delight its customers. These initiatives ranged from product design and

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quality to network expansion, and included new service programs to meet unsaid needs of
customers. The company has retained its competitive edge by offering high quality products.
In the field, the products are supported by rapidly expanding networks. The company has
diverse networks for new cars, spares, service, preowned cars and soon, and all of them were
in expansion mode last year to enable the company get closer to the customer.

Servicing customers 24X7..... 365 days....

The company takes great pride in sharing that customers have rated Maruti Suzuki first once
again in Customer Satisfaction Survey conducted by independent body, J.D. Power Asia
Pacific. It is 9th time in a row. The company was first car company in India to launch a Call
Centre in the year 2000.The award mirrors the company's commitment towards “Customer
Obsession.”

Key Initiatives

Car pickup & delivery facility for women car owners. Quote Unquote: "The study finds that
vehicle pickup and delivery before and after service has a strong impact on customer
satisfaction. In particular, customers who say that their vehicle was picked up from their
doorstep before service and delivered to the same point after service are notably more
delighted with their after-sales service experience, compared with customers who do not
receive this service.... "Maruti also launched mission to promote safe driving habits jointly
with Institute of Driving Training and Research. It also launched a special program for
Indians living abroad or NRIs, to facilitate them to gift Maruti cars online to friends and
relatives at home. Online club Swift Life is made for all Swift owners.

Setting up "Express Service Bays" & "2 - Technician Bays"

As the name suggests the company set out to delight its customers by offering them faster car
service by introducing new concepts such as Express Service Bays &2- Technicians Bays.
These are done for customers who are hard pressed for time. Both the initiatives undertaken
in this direction have helped improve customer interface and also helped increase the
productivity and capacity of existing workshops.

Mega Camps

The company aggressively conducts 'Mega Camps' throughout the country round the year.
Activities undertaken during a mega camp include complimentary car wash, AC & Pollution

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check up, oil and fuel top ups, wheel alignments etc. Apart from mega camps workshop
camps like A/C checkup camps, PUC and general check-up camps, Locality camps, Pre
monsoon camps etc are also regularly conducted as part of customer connect initiatives.

Service at Door Step through Maruti Mobile Support

Another unique initiative is the door step service facility through Maruti Mobile Support.
Maruti Mobile Support is a first of it’s kind initiative and is expected not only to help the
company reach out customers in metro cities but also as a mean to reach semi urban /rural
areas where setting up of new workshop may not be viable

Car Safety device: Immobilizer

The company used technology to meet customer needs and even delight them. Following
feedback that the company's cars were more prone to theft owing to their resale value, the
company worked on an anti-theft immobilizer or "I-Cats;" system for all its new cars.

Complete car needs

The company's effort of providing all car-related needs from learning to drive a car at Maruti
Driving Schools to car insurance, extended warranty and eventually exchanging the existing
car for a new one under one roof at Dealership also enhances customer satisfaction.

Current position of the company and new launches:

The new generation of the Suzuki Swift Sport will make its world debut at the 64th
International Motor Show (IAA) Cars show, which will be held in Frankfurt, Germany, from
13 to 25 September 2011.

The new Swift Sport is a refined sport compact resulting from the first full model change
since the launch of the original Swift Sport in 2006. It has a more aggressive and dignified
exterior look thanks to a ground-hugging form that gives a sense of stability and tension and a
big front grille that evokes sporty performance. And its cabin combines essential sportiness
with a high-quality look and feel and design features that heighten excitement about the
driving experience. Higher power and lower fuel consumption are delivered by the 1.6-litre
M16A engine, which Suzuki developed exclusively for the Swift Sport. The engine is mated
to a specially developed six-speed manual transmission, resulting in performance that’s both
exciting and environmentally responsible. Plus, the new Swift Sport offers superior cornering

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stability and brisker, more responsive handling thanks to struts with internal rebound springs
and to an exclusive rear-suspension design.

High levels of safety are assured by features such as a light, stiff, impact-absorbing body;
seven airbags (including curtain airbags and a driver’s knee airbag); and an ESP(R)
(Electronic Stability Program).

3.3 Communication strategy

Identifying the target audience

Based on the usage of the product we feel that Maruti Suzuki should target both current and
new users in the segment.

Communication objectives

Based on Rossiter and Percy model, Maruti Suzuki’s communication objective should be a
mix of

· Brand Awareness - Ensure that the customer identifies the name “Kizashi” with the A4

segment cars in India so that it could lead to future purchase

· Brand Attitude - Ensure that the customer perceives that the brand would be able to satisfy

his/her current relevant needs. The communication strategy should ensure there is an

alignment between what the company is selling (an emotionally appealing sedan for active

people) and what the customer perceives the product to be.

3.4 Communication design

1. Message strategy

The primary of Maruti Suzuki is to enter the A4 segment and in the long run be a car
manufacturing company which can cater to the needs of the consumers in all the car
segments. Emphasis should be given to both the parent brand Maruti Suzuki and the brand
Kizashi. More emphasis should be given to the points of difference that Kizashi has over its
competitors.

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2. Creative Strategy

The creative strategy should be a combination of both informational appeals and

transformational appeals. The company should communicate the benefits of the car such as
power, speed and superior technology at the same time it should also communicate the kind
of person who would use this car. (successful, professional, exciting)

3. Message Source

Communicating through unknown people would be the ideal strategy for this segment. The
customer must be able to see him/herself in the shoes of the source. Communicating through
a celebrity is not required.

Total communication budget

The total communication budget is calculated using percentage of sales method. Maruti
spends 2% of its total sales on advertising. For Kizashi we propose that Maruti allocate 10%
of the total expected sales in 2011 as the communication budget.

Estimated market share in 2011 = 1837 (5.3% of 34592)

Average price of car = Rs 1200000

Communication budget = 10%(average price of car*units sold) approximately Rs 200 million

3.5 Communication Mix

Advertising

 TV advertising – Ads should be played during prime time in English news channels,
popular English TV serials. This is working on the assumption that the probability of
the target customer viewing the ad is the highest during prime time. The ads should
also be played during non prime time hours in the nation’s top business channels.
These ads should be more towards the transformational appeal of the customer

 Print ads – Ads should be published in English news papers and popular English
business and current affairs magazine. These ads should stress on the actual product
benefits.

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  Internet ads – Internet is a major source of information for the customer. The
company needs to promote its car in various automobile websites and have a
dedicated site for handling all the potential customers.

Sales promotions

 Contests games – The Company should sponsor certain contests in cricket or football
shows. The contest should be in line with the image the brand wants to portray

 Premiums and gifts – All the purchases that happen in the 1st year should be
accompanied with a gift basket. The contents of the gift basket should have some
value to the potential buyer.

 Fairs and trade shows – This is something Kizashi has already done. It was showcased
in the 2010 Auto expo in Delhi.

Events & Experience

 The calendar year is filled with sporting events such as IPL and the T 20 cricket world
cup. Kizashi should sponsor the man of the series award in one of these events.

1. Contingency Plan

In the worst case scenario if this plan fails, exiting from the segment is not an option.
Maruti’s vision is to be a leader in the automobile industry and to be a major player in the
industry iit’s crucial to enter the A4 segment. This is a segment where the size of the target
customers are growing at a fast rate and at the same time the number of players catering to
the needs of these consumers are relatively low. Hence if the present plan fails, Maruti should
reposition Kizashi and try and break into thesegment again.

3.6 CDM Process for Cars in price range of 10-14 lacks

The consumer decision making process for cars in this segment is a very high involvement

process because of the following reasons:

1. The cost of the product is high. Hence higher the importance of taking right decision.

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2. People attach their self image with cars which they buy.

3. The decision will affect the consumers for a long duration.

Since, purchase of car is a high involvement decision it goes through all five stages of

consumer decision making.

The various steps that define the consumer decision making process are:

1. Problem Recognition: This occurs when consumers see a significant difference between
their ideal and actual state. They get the notion of ideal state because of various stimuli which
can be either internal or external.

a. Past Experience: Consumer past experience has a significant effect on the car they will
like to purchase. They may be unsatisfied with their present means of transport. There can
also be a failure and lack of appeal for the existing car. The purchase decision is aimed at
solving their past needs.

b. Future Aspirations: Consumers can have various future aspirations like status, comfort
while driving, and driving a powerful car etc.

c. Peers: Cars used by peers (friends and family members) and views of peers on cars
significantly affect consumers.

d. Marketing: The consumer can be attracted to various features of the car through
advertising campaigns launched for the product. For cars advertisement shown on TV
stimulates consumers the most.

1. Information Search: The second step to the consumer decision process is information
search. Information search can be:

a. Internal search: The consumer recalls information, experiences, and feelings concerning
various cars within the price range they are looking at. The information that is recalled are:

i. Brands

ii. Attributes

iii. Experiences

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a. External Search: Consumer look for information from external sources like internet,
retailers, peers, and various other sources of information like TV, magazines. The most
frequently used sources of information for cars is firstly, various websites on which
consumers can find detailed information about alternative cars and also compare various cars.
Company’s websites also provide detailed information about the cars they have in market.
Secondly, consumer gather information directly from retailers.

1. Evaluation of Alternatives

During the information search and from past experience consumers gather various criteria to
evaluate a car:

a. Price

b. Brand

c. Maintenance Cost

d. Comfort

e. Ease of availability and quality of service

f. Power

g. Appearance

h. Size

i. Fuel-Efficiency

Consumers give more weight to the criteria that are important to them. For cars in D-
segment

various factors influence the criteria’s for evaluating alternatives.

1. Age: Consumers within the age group of 18-35 prefers power, style and brand image in the
given order. Consumer in the age bracket of 35 and above prefers comfort, brand image,
appearance in the given order.

2. Income: Consumer buys a car that can be maintained and afforded with his/her respective
income. Upper middle class (40,000 – 85,000) prefers cars with high fuel efficiency and

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lower maintenance cost. Rich consumers (income 85,000 and above) buys cars prefers
powerful and stylish cars.

3. Family: Decision to buy a car gets involvement from the entire family. The weights given
to above criteria also include preferences for spouse, parents and children of a consumer.

4. Other factors like lifestyle and personality of the consumer affect weights given to each of
the above mentioned criteria. In the evaluation stage, consumers select a few brands out of
many brands available in the market.

1. Purchase Decision: In this stage consumer selects one brand of car out of a few brands of
cars available in the market. The car that a consumer buys should rank best in his/her most
preferred attribute or the consumer can buy a car which meets cut-offs in all the attributes.

2. Post-purchase behaviour: Post-purchase behaviour of consumers depends on whether

he/she is satisfied or dissatisfied with the car. A satisfied consumer will say positive things
about the car to others and is more likely to buy car of same brand in the future. A dissatisfied
consumer will say negative things, will never think of buying a car of the same brand and in
extreme cases may take a public action against the brand.

3.7 Different types of CRM at Maruti Suzuki

Analytical CRM

 Designing and executing targeted marketing campaigns

 Designing and executing campaigns, e.g. customer acquisition, cross-selling, up-

selling, add on-selling

 Analyzing customer behaviour in order to make decisions relating to products and

services (e.g. pricing, product development)

 Management information system (e.g. financial forecasting and customer profitability

analysis).

Operational CRM.

 Managing campaigns

 Enterprise marketing Automation

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  Sales Force Automation

 Sales Management System

Sales Intelligence CRM

Cross – selling/ Up-selling/ Switch –selling opportunities

 Customer drift

 Sales Performance

 Customer Trends

 Customer margins

 Customer Alignment

Collaborative CRM

§A Buying Experience Like No Other Maruti Suzuki has a sales network of 307 state-of-the-
art showrooms across 189 cities, with a workforce of over 6000 trained sales personnel to
guide MUL customers in finding the right car.

§Quality Service Across 1036 Cities

In the J.D. Power CSI Study Maruti Suzuki scored the highest across all 7 parameters: 1.
Least problems experienced with vehicle serviced,2. Highest service quality, 3. Best in-
service experience,4. Best service delivery,5. Best service advisor experience,6. Most user-
friendly service and7. Best service initiation experience.92% of Maruti Suzuki owners feel
that work gets done right the first time during service. The J.D. Power CSI study also reveals
that 97% of MarutiSuzuki owners would probably recommend the same make of vehicle,
while 90% owners would probably repurchase the same make of vehicle.

3.8 Other advantage: which help in CRM

One Stop Shop

At Maruti Suzuki, customers will find all car related needs met under one roof. Whether it is
easy finance, insurance, fleet management services, exchange- Maruti Suzuki is set to
provide a single-window solution for all car related needs.

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The Low Cost Maintenance Advant

The acquisition cost is unfortunately not the only cost customers face when buying a car. Not
so in the case of a Maruti Suzuki. It is in the economy segment that the affordability of spares
is most competitive, and it is here where Maruti Suzuki shines.

Lowest Cost of Ownership

The highest satisfaction ratings with regard to cost of ownership among all models are all
Maruti Suzuki vehicles: Zen, Wagon R, Esteem, Maruti 800, Alto and Omni

CRM through Social Relationship

In 1999 Launch of Maruti - Suzuki innovative traffic beat in Delhi and Chennai as social
initiatives.

Maruti Driving School-Available in all major cities. Lady trainer for lady customer.

Role of the Sales Person

He should be neatly dressed

He should have knowledge about various products

Features

 Variants

 Colors

 Prices

 Sales promotion campaigns

 Competitor products, their features, prices ,etc.

 Latest service and warranty policies

 Current availability

 Carry copy of ready reckoner.

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3.9 Customer Care Team:

Role of the Customer Care Manager:

Customer Care Manager is the leader of the customer care team. He is accountable for the
sales satisfaction index of the dealership. The customer care manager ensures that every
customer is properly followed up and feedback is recorded. Also the customer complaints are
recorded and resolved as soon as possible to the level of satisfaction. The customer care
executives report to the customer care manager.

3.10 Customer Care Executive:-

Initially does the Post Sales Follow up (PSF) and monitors the feedback

Forms at the showroom

Post sales follow up

PSF’s are done in order to get the first hand feedback from the customer about the experience
that they had during the sales and delivery process. The first PSF is done within the 72 hours
of delivery and the voice or exact wordings of the customer are recorded. The next PSF call is
made after 15days after the vehicle is delivered. The feedback form system is a very
important tool to obtain customer’s feedback on the experience that the customer had during
the purchase of his/her car.

3.11 Why Maruti Suzuki

The quality Advantage:

 Maruti Suzuki owners experience fewer problems with their vehicles than any other
car manufacturer in India (J.D. power IQS study 2004). The Alto was chosen No. 1 in
the premium compact car segment and the Esteem in the entry level mid – size car
segment across 9 parameters.

 The J.D. power APEAL study 2004 proclaimed the wagon R no. 1 in the premium
compact Car segment and the esteem no. 1 in the entry level mid – size car segment.

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 This study measures owners in terms of design, content, layout, and performance of
vehicles across 8 parameters.

A buying experience like no other:

Maruti Suzuki has a sales network of 307 state-of the-art show rooms across 189 cities with a
work force of over 6000 trained personnel to guide our customers in finding the right car. Our
high sales and customer care standards led us to achieve the no. 1 nameplate in the J.D.
Power SSI study 2004.

Quality service across 1036 cities:

 In the J.D. power CSI study 2004, maruti Suzuki scored the highest across all 7
parameters: least problems experienced with vehicle serviced, highest service quality,
best in service experience, best service delivery, best service advisor experience, most
user –friendly service and best service initiation experience.

 92% of Maruti Suzuki owners feel that work gets done right the first time during
service. The J.D. power study CSI 2004 also reveals that 97% of Maruti Suzuki
owners would probably recommend the same make of vehicle, while 90% owners
would probably repurchase the same make of vehicle.

One stop shop:

1. At Maruti Suzuki u will find all car related needs met under one roof. whether it is
easy finance, insurance, fleet management services, exchange – Maruti Suzuki is set
to provide a single –window solution for all your car related needs.

The lowest cost maintenance advantage:

The acquisition cost is unfortunately not the only cost you face when buying a car. Although
car may be affordable to buy, it may not necessarily be affordable to maintain, as some of its
regularly used spare parts may be priced quiet steeply. Not so in the case of a Maruti Suzuki.
It is in the economy segment that the affordability of spares is most expensive and it is here
where Maruti Suzuki shines.

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Lowest cost of ownership:

The highest satisfaction ratings with regard to cost of ownership among all models are all
Maruti Suzuki vehicles: Zen, wagon R, Esteem, swift, Alto and Omni. We are proud to have
the lowest cost of operation/km (among petrol vehicles) – the top 5 models are all Maruti
Suzuki models: Swift, Zen, Alto, Omni and Wagon R.

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 Chapter-4

Data Analysis

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4.1 Knowledge Salesperson

Table:

Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly

Disagree disagree not Agree
agree

Percentage - - - 85% 15%

Graph:

No of Respondents

15%
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither Disagree not Agree
Agree
Strongly Agree

85%

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4.2 Employees spent enough time with you before sales

Table:

Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly

Disagree disagree not Agree
agree

Percentage - 4% - 62% 34%

Graph:

No of Respondents

4% Strongly Disagree
34%
Disagree
Neither disagree not agree
Agree
Strongly Agree
62%

62% agreed that sales persons spent enough time with them during the sales ,while 34%
strongly agreed that the sales persons spent enough time with them during sales and only 4%
disagreed with this.

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4.3 Availability of the Product

Table:

Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly

Disagree disagree not Agree
agree

Percentage - 4% - 91% 5%

Graph:

No of Respondents

5%
4%

Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither disagree not agree
Agree
Strongly Agree

91%

91% agreed that the availability of the product was there, 5% strongly agreed that the
availability was there while only 4% said they disagreed with this.

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4.4 Variety/Selection Merchandize

Table;

Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly

Disagree disagree not Agree
agree

Percentage - 6% - 87% 7%

Graph:

No of Respondents

6%
7%

Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither disagree not agree
Agree
Strongly Agree

87%

87% agreed that there was variety/selection of merchandize whereas 7%strongly agreed that
enough variety was there and 6% disagreed with this.

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4.5 Prices Are Affordable

Table:

Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly

Disagree disagree not Agree
agree

Percentage - - 15% 21% 64%

Graph:

Percentages

15%
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
21% Neither disagree not agree
Agree
64%
Strongly Agree

64% strongly agreed that the prices are affordable, 21% agreed that the prices are affordable
whereas only 15% said that they neither disagreed nor agreed with this.

4.6 Attractive Discounts Offered

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Table:

Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly

Disagree disagree not Agree
agree

Percentage - 11% - 55% 34%

Graph:

No of Respondents

11%
Strongly Disagree
34%
Disagree
Neither disagree not agree
Agree
Strongly Agree
55%

55% agreed that the discounts offered are attractive, 34% strongly agreed with this while
11% disagreed and said that the discounts offered were not attractive.

4.7 Décor of The Waiting Area Is Pleasing

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Table:

Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly

Disagree disagree not Agree
agree

Percentage - - - 80% 20%

Graph:

No of Respondents

20%
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither disagree not agree
Agree
Strongly Agree
80%

80% agreed that the décor of the waiting area was pleasing while 20%strongly agreed that the
décor of the waiting area was pleasing.

4.8 Offered A Test Drive

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Table:

Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly

Disagree disagree not Agree
agree

Percentage - 20% - 74% 6%

Graph:

No of Respondents

6%

20% Strongly Disagree

Disagree
Neither disagree not agree
Agree
Strongly Agree
74%

74% agreed that the test drive was offered to them ,6% strongly agreed that the test drive was
offered while 20% disagreed with this.

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4.9 Responds To complaints

Table:

Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly

Disagree disagree not Agree
agree

Percentage - 6% 12% 64% 18%

Graph:

No of Respondents

6%

18% Strongly Disagree

12%
Disagree
Neither disagree not agree
Agree
Strongly Agree

64%

64% agreed that the response to complaints is quick, 18% strongly agreed, 12% neither
agreed nor disagreed and 6% disagreed with this.

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4.10 Service at Maruti Service Station Is Excellent

Table:

Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly

Disagree disagree not Agree
agree

Percentage - 14% - 82% 14%

Graph:

No of Respondents

13% 13%
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither disagree not agree
Agree
Strongly Agree
75%

82% said that the service at maruti service station is excellent , 14%strongly agreed while
only 4% disagreed with this.

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4.11 Careful with Personal Information

Table:

Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly

Disagree disagree not Agree
agree

Percentage - 7% 8% - 85%

Graph:

No of Respondents

7%
8%
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither disagree not agree
Agree
Strongly Agree
85%

85% agreed that yes they were careful with personal information, strongly agreed with this
and 8% neither agreed nor disagreed.

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4.12 All the Commitments are Fulfilled

Table:

Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly

Disagree disagree not Agree
agree

Percentage - - - 6% 94%

Graph:

No of Respondents

6%
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither disagree not agree
Agree
Strongly Agree
94%

94% strongly agreed that all the commitments were fulfilled and 6%agreed with this.

4.13 Value for Money

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Table:

Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly

Disagree disagree not Agree
agree

Percentage - - - 2% 98%

Graph:

No of Respondents

2%
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither disagree not agree
Agree
Strongly Agree
98%

98% strongly agreed that maruti provides value for money while 2%agreed with this.

4.14 What is your overall opinion about Maruti?

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Table:

Very bad Bad Neither bad Good Very good

not good

Percentage - - - 4% 96%

Graph:

No of Respondents

4%
Very bad
Bad
Neither bad not good
Good
Very good
96%

96% said that there overall opinion about maruti was that it is ver good while 4% said that it
is good.

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 Chapter-5
Findings, Conclusion

Findings

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It is observed that

 The prospective segment is from the business and self-employed class.

 The company should concentrate on the age group 26-34.

 Maruti should continue to maintain the standard of the service.

 It is observed that, 42% of the respondent are of opinion that vehicles are as per
expectation, and 20% are saying its below expectation.

 Company should improve its post sales service.

 The customer highest priority is for the mileage.

 Maruti Suzuki needs to improve its awareness about Add-on-Services like any time
Maruti, MEW etc.

 Customer are highly satisfied with the service which help in customer retention

 It is observed that, 46% of the customers are of opinion that Maruti should improve in
quality, and 16% of the opinion that Maruti should improve in price.

 Customers are highly satisfied which help in customer retention.

 Company has created goodwill among the customers which will help them to
recommend car to friends and relatives.

 Maruti Suzuki needs to educate the customers about the benefits of M-Finance. They
can motivate the cash customers to offer M-Finance.

 It is observed that, 86% of the customers are ready to prefer M-Insurance, 14% are
not ready to prefer M-Insurance.

LIMITATIONS OF STUDY:

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Though the research was conducted properly, the probability of errors & biaseskept is
minimum; still some errors occurred because of certain limitation.

These are as follows:-

 A very short span of time for research.

 This is time consuming research method & the respondents did not have sufficient
time for giving information for such type of research.

 People were reluctant to give responses for such type of research.

 People also did not give proper response for Questionnaire & interview, because of
short time.

 Study is restricted to only Amravati city. I have honestly and sincerely tried to present
the facts and figures but some error still might have cropped up.

CONCLUSION

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As the leading manufacturer in the small car segment of the Indian market, we would like
suggest Maruti Suzuki Ltd and like to conclude by giving my some point of views like :-

 To strengthen their leadership position in the small car segment of the Indian market;

 To continue to expand the size of the Indian market for small cars by strengthening
and expanding the dealer network and making automobile financing available at
competitive rates; and

 To continue to benchmark them against improving global manufacturing, marketing

and other practices and standards, strive to increase customer satisfaction through
quality products and new\ initiatives, and promote the financial strength of our sale
network.

 Maruti Suzuki should make some compact cars with sporty looks like Swift .It will
give new dimensions to the success of Maruti Suzuki.

 The most important suggestion would be: Maruti Suzuki has emphasized highly on
their CRM policies and they must carry the same practices and they must concentrate
that these services should not go down rate they must work on strengthening the CRM
policies. Because in India, the after sale services matters a lot. If one company is very
good at all aspects but not good at the CRM policies customers will simply switch
that brand. But if a company is Excellent in its After Sale services or co-coordinating
in excellent manners with the customers The Customers love to attach with that
company whether all the features are not good. So to maintain the success Maruti
must be good at the CRM policies as it is now

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