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Sudha Menon

Pune , Aug. 11

THE country's largest car manufacturer, Maruti Udyog Ltd is all set to overhaul one of its longest surviving models, the Omni and launch it with more driver-friendly features.

Top sources told Business Line the company has been working on upgrading the braking and suspension system of the Omni over the last few months. "The new Omni will be rolled out in October 2004," top company sources said.

A company spokesperson when contacted said "Product up gradation is a continuous process with us, based on consumer feedback and as part of our company policy we do not share information on products or brands." Sources, meanwhile, said work on redesigning the Omni to make it more contemporary by giving it vacuum assisted braking system and better suspension among other things for more driver comfort has commenced.

Prototyping of the new product is on right now and the new product will be available next December.

The Omnis' (launched 1985) sales, which plummeted from 60,236 units in 2001-02 to 49,960 in 2002-03 are higher at 17,629 units in the first four months of 2003-04 compared to 16,017 units sold in the corresponding period last year, officials said.

The company is making a comeback bid for the vehicle by positioning it in other niche segments and is now promoting it for varied uses such as ambulance, an intra-city runabout vehicle, a vehicle for campers and outdoors people a small cargo vehicle and even a mobile office. Interestingly, a previous attempt by MUL to introduce the Omni as a cargo carrier christened the Omni Carry had been met with lukewarm response.

Sources said that with the expected advent of vehicles like Tata Motors' Cub, an intra-city cargo vehicle early next year, MUL is keen to be in this segment of the market. "A redesigning at this stage makes sense since it is an existing product and giving it a fresh lease of life does not require any significant investment,'' sources said.

Meanwhile, even as work on the redesigning and repositioning of the Omni is underway, the company is also believed to be considering similar changes for the vehicles more glamorous sibling, the Versa, which has also been suffering from lacklustre sales. The Versa has not caught the imagination of the Indian car buyer despite some high-voltage endorsements by super star Amitabh Bachchan and son Abhishek.

Sources said the company, which has dropped the prices of the vehicle by over a lakh since its initial launch a couple of years ago, is now considering offering the Versa also with variants meant for various business segments.

Company officials declined to comment on plans for the vehicle but said it has "a well chalked out strategy'' to promote the vehicle. The Versa sold 1950 units in the fiscal ended March 31, 2003.

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Maruti Omni set to undergo a makeover

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