End of the road for people’s car

Emission norms will push Maruti 800, one of the oldest and the most loved small cars, out of the market

End of the road for people's car

Emission norms will push Maruti 800, one of the oldest and the most loved small cars, out of the market

Maruti 800, known as the people's car, will take a bow and move out of the markets soon. This model will no longer be sold from 2010, because of the Euro-IV emission norms that will come into force from next year.

Maruti Suzuki India will also phase out Maruti 800's sibling and the second oldest model from its stable Omni mini-van. In the initial phase, the two models will be done away with in 11 cities, where the Bharat Stage-IV emission norms (which are equivalent to Euro-IV norms) would be applicable.

These cars will not be available in the markets anymore, but new models are ready to hit the roads. "A new model will roll out in 2009 -10 and this will make up for the old ones. Though lots of people are still using these cars we can't really do much," said a spokesperson of Maruti.

"Though the cars will be phased out, all the spare parts will still be available in the market. The Zen was completely redesigned and restructured a couple of years ago, but the parts of the old model are still available," he said.

Owners sad

The news of the phase out is not going down well with the Maruti 800 lovers.

"Maruti 800 was my first car and I still preserve it. It may be slightly old-fashioned and even if there are other better models around, this car has a certain charm," said Ranganathan, a retired professor.

Some even feel that the parts would become expensive if the model is out of the market. "Once the car is out, the parts become extremely expensive. There's no point keeping it even after the model is phased out. I have the older version of Zen which is no longer present in the market. I have to shell out quite a bit every time it goes out for repair," said Dr Prasad Rao, a resident of Koramangala.

The Maruti 800 has its own value in the market even today and there are people who still prefer this popular model. "We sell at least seven cars in a month, though there are other versions of Maruti car present in the market. People prefer this because it has passed the test of time and proved its worth as a reliable car," said Naveen Duggal, general manager, Maruti Udyog.