PROJECT REPORT

ON

By: NamanClass: XII-ARoll No.: 24

CONTENTS

I. Acknowledgment II. Preface III. Introduction IV. Company at a Glance V. Profile VI. Board Of Directors VII. Industrial Relations VIII. Services Offered IX. Exports X. Questionnaire XI. Conclusion XII. Recommendations XIII. Bibliography XIV. Remarks

Acknowledgment

I owe a great many thanks to many people who helped & supported me during the preparation of my project.

My deepest thanks to Lecturer, Mr. Vishal Jain, the Guide of the project for guiding and correcting various documents of mine with attention and care. He has taken pain to go through the project and make necessary correction as and when needed.

I would also like to thank my Institution & my faculty members without whom this project would have been a distant reality. I also extend my heartfelt thanks to my family and well-wishers.

I thank everyone once again & especially God,who made all things possible.

PREFACE

If we can compare marketing to a long train with a multiple compartment then each bogie represents a different aspect of marketing. Marketing strategy formulation depends upon the every aspect of related terms and, marketing research plays vital role to connect each compartment to form a cohesive functional unit.

The automotive industry is at the center of India’s new global dynamic. It plays major roles in retaining manufacturing industry growth over 12.5% per annum.

The motivation behind the project was to gain clear understanding about marketing research. Through this project I have tried to understand the complexities involved in gathering of data for drawing inferences .The final

objective is to produce a result that is accurate, useful, and free from bias. The project has been presented in a simple format & gives a clear-cut idea about Maruti Suzuki (An Indian automotive brand).

INTRODUCTIONMaruti Suzuki India Limited subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan, is India's largest passenger car company, accounting for over 45% of the domestic car market. The company offers a complete range of cars from entry level Maruti 800 and Alto, to hatchback Ritz, A star, Swift, Wagon-R, Estillo and sedans DZire, SX4 and Sports Utility vehicle Grand Vitara.

It was the first company in India to mass-produce and sell 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 Limited was

renamed Maruti Suzuki India Limited. The company’s headquarters are located in New Delhi.

Company at a Glance

PROFILEMaruti Suzuki is India and Nepal’s number one leading automobile manufacturer and the market leader in the car segment, both in terms of volume of vehicles sold and revenue earned. Until recently, the Indian government, and 54.2% by Suzuki of Japan owned 18.28% of the company. The BJP-led government held an initial public offering of 25% of the company in June 2003. As of 10 May 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 Suzuki has produced over 5 Million vehicles. Maruti Suzukis are sold in India and various several other countries, depending upon export orders.

Models similar to Maruti Suzukis (but not manufactured by Maruti Udyog) are sold by Suzuki Motor Corporation and manufactured in Pakistan and other South Asian countries.

The company annually exports more than 50,000 cars and has an extremely large domestic market in India selling over 730,000 cars annually. Maruti 800, till 2004, was the India's largest selling compact car ever since it was launched in 1983. More than a million units of this car have been sold worldwide so far. Currently, Maruti Suzuki Alto tops the sales charts and Maruti Suzuki Swift is the largest selling in A2 segment.

Due to the large number of Maruti 800s sold in the Indian market, the term "Maruti" is commonly used to refer to this compact car model ("Maruti" is another name of the Hindu god, Hanuman).

Maruti Suzuki has been the leader of the Indian car market for over two decades.

Its manufacturing facilities are located at two facilities Gurgaon and Manesar south of Delhi.

Maruti Suzuki’s Gurgaon facility has an installed capacity of 350,000 units per annum. The Manesar facilities, launched in February 2007 comprise a vehicle assembly plant with a capacity of 100,000 units per year and a Diesel

Engine plant with an annual capacity of 100,000 engines and transmissions. Manesar and Gurgaon facilities have a combined capability to produce over 700,000 units annually.

More than half the cars sold in India are Maruti Suzuki cars. The company is a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan, which owns 54.2 per cent of Maruti Suzuki. Public and financial institutions own the rest. It is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange in India.

During 2007-08, Maruti Suzuki sold 764,842 cars, of which 53,024 were exported. In all, over six million Maruti Suzuki cars are on Indian roads since

the first car was rolled out on 14 December 1983.

Maruti Suzuki offers 14 models, Maruti 800, Alto, WagonR, Estilo, A-star, Ritz, Swift, Swift DZire, SX4, Omni, Eeco, Gypsy, Grand Vitara, Kizashi. Swift, Swift DZire, A-star and SX4 are manufactured in Manesar, Grand Vitara and Kizashi are imported from Japan as completely built units(CBU), remaining all models are manufactured in Maruti Suzuki's Gurgaon Plant.

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.

Nearly 75,000 people are employed directly by Maruti Suzuki and its partners. J D Power Asia Pacific has rated it first in customer satisfaction

among all car makers in India from 1999 to 2009.

Board of DirectorsChairman: Mr. R.C. Bhargava

Managing Director and CEO: Mr. S. Nakanishi

Directors: Mr. Manvinder Singh

Ms. Pallavi Shroff Mr. Kenichi Ayukawa

Mr. Amal Ganguli Mr. D. S. Brar Mr. Osamu Suzuki

Director & MEO(Engineering): Mr. Keiichi Asai

Director & MEO (Marketing & Sales): Mr. Shuji Oishi

Director and Managing Executive Officer (Production): Mr. Tsuneo

Industrial relations

For most of its history, Maruti Udyog Limited had relatively few problems with its labour force. The workforce of the company without any difficulty accepted its emphasis of a Japanese

work culture and the modern manufacturing process, first instituted in Japan in the 1970s. But with the change in management in 1997, when it became predominantly government controlled for a while, and the conflict between the United Front Government and Suzuki may have been the cause of unrest among employees. A major row broke out in September 2000 when employees of Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) went on an indefinite strike, demanding among other things, revision of the incentive scheme offered and implementation of a pension scheme.

Employees struck work for six hours in October 2000, irked over the suspension of nine employees, going on a six-hour tools-down strike at its Gurgaon plant, demanding revision of the incentive-linked pay and threatened to fast to death if the suspended employees were not reinstated. About this time, the NDA government, following a

disinvestments policy, proposed to sell part of its stake in Maruti Suzuki in a public offering.

The Staff union opposed this sell-off plan on the grounds that the company will lose a major business advantage of being subsidised by the Government.

The standoff with the management continued to December with a proposal by the management to end the two-month long agitation rejected with a demand for reinstatement of 92 dismissed workers, with four MUL employees going on a fast-unto-death. In December the company's shareholders met in New Delhi in an AGM that lasted 30 minutes. At the same time around 1500 plant workers from the MUL's Gurgaon facility were agitating outside the company's corporate office demanding commencement of production linked incentives, a better pension scheme and other benefits.

The management has refused to pass on the benefits citing increased competition and lower margins.

Services offeredI. Current sales of automobiles:

Manufactured locally:1. 800 (Launched 1983)2. Omni (Launched 1984)3. Gypsy (Launched 1985)4. WagonR (Launched 2002)5. Alto (Launched 2000)6. Swift (Launched 2005)7. Estilo (Launched 2009)8. SX4 (Launched 2007)9. Swift DZire (Launched 2008)10. A-star (Launched 2008)11. Ritz (Launched 2009)12. Eeco (Launched 2010)

13.Alto K10 (Launched 2010)

Imported:1. Grand Vitara (Launched 2007)

2. Kizashi (Launched 2011)

Discontinued car models:1. 1000 (1990–1994)2. Zen (1993–2006)3. Esteem (1994–2008)4. Baleno (1999–2007)5. Zen Estilo (2006–2009)6. Versa (2001–2010)7. Grand Vitara XL7 (2003–2007)

II.Manufacturing facilities:Maruti Suzuki has two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in India. Both manufacturing facilities have a combined production capacity of 1,250,000 vehicles annually.

III.Gurgaon Manufacturing Facility:

The Gurgaon Manufacturing Facility has three fully integrated manufacturing plants and is spread over 300 acres (1.2 km2). All three plants have an installed capacity of 350,000 vehicles annually but productivity improvements have enabled it to manufacture 700,000 vehicles annually. The Gurgaon facilities also manufacture 240,000 K-Series engines annually.

The entire facility is equipped with more than 150 robots, out of which 71 have been developed in-house. The Gurgaon Facilities manufactures the 800, Alto, WagonR, Estilo, Omni, Gypsy and Eeco.

IV.Manesar Manufacturing Facility:

The Manesar Manufacturing Plant was inaugurated in February 2007 and is spread over 600 acres (2.4 km2). Initially it had a production capacity of 100,000

vehicles annually but this was increased to 300,000 vehicles annually in October 2008. 250,000 vehicles taking total production capacity to 550,000 vehicles annually further increased the production capacity. The Manesar Plant produces the A-star, Swift, Swift DZire and SX4.

V.Sales and service network:

As of 31 March 2011 Maruti Suzuki has 933 dealerships across 666 towns and cities in all states and union territories of India. It has 2,946

service stations (inclusive of dealer workshops and Maruti Authorised Service Stations) in 1,395 towns and cities throughout India. It has 30 Express Service Stations on 30 National Highways across 1,314 cities in India.

Service is a major revenue generator of the company. Most of the service stations are managed on franchise basis, where Maruti Suzuki trains the

local staff. Other automobile companies have not been able to match this benchmark set by Maruti Suzuki. The Express Service stations help many stranded vehicles on the highways by sending across their repair man to the vehicle.

VI.Maruti Insurance:

Launched in 2002 Maruti Suzuki provides vehicle insurance to its customers with the help of the National Insurance Company, Bajaj Allianz, New India Assurance and Royal Sundaram. The service was set up the company with the inception of two subsidiaries Maruti Insurance Distributors Services Pvt. Ltd and Maruti Insurance Brokers Pvt. Limited.

This service started as a benefit or value addition to customers and was able to ramp up easily. By December 2005 they were able to sell more than two million insurance policies since its inception.

VII.Maruti Finance:

To promote its bottom line growth, Maruti Suzuki launched Maruti Finance in January 2002. Prior to the start of this service Maruti Suzuki had started two joint ventures Citicorp Maruti and Maruti Countrywide with Citi Group and GE Countrywide respectively to assist its client in securing loan. Maruti Suzuki tied up with ABN Amro Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Limited, Kotak Mahindra, Standard Chartered Bank, and Sundaram to start this venture including its strategic partners in car finance. Again the company entered into a strategic partnership with SBI in March 2003. Since March 2003, Maruti has sold over 12,000 vehicles through SBI-Maruti Finance. SBI-Maruti Finance is currently available in 166 cities across India.

Citicorp Maruti Finance Limited is a joint venture between Citicorp Finance India and Maruti Udyog Limited its

primary business stated by the company is "hire-purchase financing of Maruti Suzuki vehicles". Citi Finance India Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Citibank Overseas Investment Corporation, Delaware, which in turn is a 100% wholly owned subsidiary of Citibank N.A. Citi Finance India Limited holds 74% of the stake and Maruti Suzuki holds the remaining 26%. GE Capital, HDFC and Maruti Suzuki came together in 1995 to form Maruti Countrywide.Maruti claims that its finance program offers most competitive interest rates to its customers, which are lower by 0.25% to 0.5% from the market rates.

VIII.Maruti TrueValue:

Maruti True service offered by Maruti Suzuki to its customers. It is a market place for used Maruti Suzuki Vehicles. One can buy, sell or exchange used Maruti Suzuki vehicles with the help of this service in India. As of 31 March

2010 there are 341 Maruti True Value outlets.

IX.N2N Fleet Management:

N2N is the short form of End to End Fleet Management and provides lease and fleet management solution to corporates. Its impressive list of clients who have signed up of this service include Gas Authority of India Ltd, DuPont, Reckitt Benckiser, Sona Steering, Doordarshan, Singer India, National Stock Exchange and Transworld. This fleet management service include end-to-end solutions across the vehicle's life, which includes Leasing, Maintenance, Convenience services and Remarketing.

X.Accessories:

Many of the auto component companies other than Maruti Suzuki started to offer components and accessories that were compatible. This caused a serious threat and loss of revenue to Maruti Suzuki. Maruti

Suzuki started a new initiative under the brand name Maruti Genuine Accessories to offer accessories like alloy wheels, body cover, carpets, door visors, fog lamps, stereo systems, seat covers and other car care products. These products are sold through dealer outlets and authorized service stations throughout India.

XI.Maruti Driving School:

As part of its corporate social responsibility Maruti Suzuki launched the Maruti Driving School in Delhi. Later the services were extended to other cities of India as well. These schools are modelled on international standards, where learners go through classroom and practical sessions. Many international practices like road behaviour and attitudes are also taught in these schools. Before driving actual vehicles participants are trained on simulators.

XII.Lean Manufacturing:

Maruti Production System or MPS draws learning's from its parent company Suzuki Motor Corporation's concepts on `lean manufacturing' under Suzuki Production System i.e. SPS. Setting trends in new products and achieving customer delight starts with Manufacturing Excellence and Maruti's manufacturing excellence hinges around

four important pillars-Cost, Quality, Safety and Productivity.

CostEvery employee working on the line is 'cost sensitive' and functions in capacity of a Cost Manager. He is a key contributor in suggesting how to keep costs of production under control.

Quality A product of poor quality requires repeated inspections, entails wastage in terms of repairs and replacements.

"Do it right first time", is the principle followed to avoid wastage. To ensure quality, robots were devices and deployed especially where they reduced worker fatigue and were critical in delivering consistent quality. With consistent improvements in the plant the company was able to manufacture over 600,000 vehicles in 2006-07 with an installed capacity of just 350,000 vehicles per year.  

 Safety "Home or work place; Safety takes First Place". This has been the motto of the company where safety is concerned. Maruti attaches great significance to safety of its people and strongly advocates that safety at work place adds to quality of the products and improves productivity of the plant significantly. In the Japanese manufacturing system, the central role is accorded, not so much to Quality, Productivity or Cost,

but to Safety. When process flow, lay-out and systems are designed for maximum safety, they automatically contribute to better quality and productivity.

EXPORTSMaruti Exports Limited is the subsidiary of Maruti Suzuki with its major focus on exports and it does not operate in the domestic Indian market. The first commercial consignment of

480 cars were sent to Hungary. By sending a consignment of 571 cars to the same country Maruti Suzuki crossed the benchmark of 300,000 cars. Since its inception export was one of the aspects government was keen to encourage. Every political party expected Maruti Suzuki to earn foreign currency.Angola, Benin, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Europe, Kenya, Morocco, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Chile, Guatemala, Costa Rica and El Salvador are some of the markets served by Maruti Exports.

QUESTIONNAIREBeing an esteem customer of Maruti Udyog Limited you are requested to

Take out a few minutes and fill the following questionnaire:

Name:_______________________

Age: <25 25-40 40-55 55+

Gender: Male Female

How long have you been associated with Maruti: 1-3 yrs. 3-5 yrs. +5 yrs.

What segment does your car fit in: Hatchback Sedan S.U.V/M.U.V

Do you consider the Brand name during your purchase: Yes No

Are you satisfied with the service offered by Maruti Suzuki: Yes No

How will you rate the overall experience with Maruti Suzuki: Excellent Good Fair Poor

Suggestions if any:

Would you recommend Maruti to others: Yes No Can’t Say

Thank you for your prestigious time.

CONCLUSIONOn an average more than 73% people feel that the prices are affordable whereas 17% do not agree, 74% believe that attractive discounts are offered whereas 26% are not satisfied with the discounts offered. 20%said that the test drives are not offered and 15% said that post sales follow ups are not done regularly whereas 85% said that they were done regularly, but people feel that Maruti Suzuki’s the people’s car as it is satisfactory on all other parameters: knowledgeable sales persons, employees spent enough time before and during sales, display of merchandise is attractive, availability of product, variety of merchandize, vehicle in good condition, affordable

prices, attractive discounts are offered, décor of the waiting area is pleasing, responds to complaints quickly, service at Maruti service station is excellent, careful with personal information and is value for money .

The overall opinion about Maruti is very good.

RECOMMENDATIONSI would like to provide certain Recommendations towards this Project Report. They are as Follows:-

1) I would like to suggest that the Marketing areas for Sales should be increased. Maruti Suzuki should try to adopt new strategies to regain whole sales force in the market.

2) As far as Launching of New Models is concerned, The Company should try to offer sales of such products at an affordable Price. 3) The Company should try bringing attractive offers & discounts for their valued customers.It would make customers more Brand Loyal towards them.

4) Research should be carried out on a large scale in selected areas.Ex:- Vehicles running on Renewable Sources (Wind,Sunlight etc.)

BIBLIOGRAPHY Google.com

En.Wikipedia.org

Marutisuzuki.com

One Up Motors, Alambagh, Lucknow

Mr. Zubair, Anand Motors, Lucknow

E-Brochures & Pamphlets etc.

REMARKS