Maruti Suzuki to Enter India’s Small-Truck Market

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. is preparing to launch a line of light-duty trucks in India that will challenge the dominance of truckmaker Tata Motors Ltd., Bloomberg News reports.

Over the next four months Maruti Suzuki plans to debut a separate dealer network that will sell a new array of commercial vehicles with payload capacities of about 2,000 lbs. The truck initially will be offered in India's largest cities, Chairman R.C. Bhargava tells Bloomberg.

Maruti Suzuki will offer the trucks with a choice of gasoline, diesel or natural gas engines. Bhargava says the company will market the trucks as inexpensive and reliable.

Bloomberg notes that India's light commercial vehicle market, in which Tata holds an 84% share, has slumped over the past two years. But analysts expect the market to grow an average 12% annually in the next several years.