Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Jun 17, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Jun 17, 2005 |
|
|
|
|
|
Corporate
-
Corporate Disputes Marketing - Advertising Maruti cries foul over Hyundai brochure Our Bureau
Chennai , June 16 IN the cutthroat world of small cars, marketing gimmicks are getting uncomfortably personal. From staid comparison advertisements, which at times even made the competitor's car look better, recent ones have taken on the tenor of a no-holds barred attack between two manufacturers. The latest face-off that is brewing and threatening to spill into the streets is between the country's top two car manufacturers — Maruti Udyog (MUL) and Hyundai Motor India (HMI). Miffed by Hyundai's comparison of the Santro Xing with the Suzuki Swift, which puts the latter car in poor light, MUL has swiftly shot off a legal notice to the Korean company's Indian arm challenging the comparison. Maruti has alleged that a number of factual errors exist in the comparison that Hyundai has compiled between the two cars. When contacted, Mr B.V.R. Subbu, President, HMI, said he had not yet read the legal notice and so commenting about it would be premature. According to MUL, Hyundai has put together a brochure or handout that highlights the differences and seems to indicate that the Santro Xing is the better of the two. Maruti also alleges that Hyundai dealers have been handing out the advertising brochure to customers who walk into their showrooms in an attempt at wooing them and "with the intention to deliberately mislead the customers" by offering "incorrect information". The legal notice alleges that Hyundai has made inaccurate and distorted statements in the brochure by giving incorrect drawings comparing the Xing to the Swift using different dimensional scales. The notice adds that incorrect dimensions of the interiors and boot of the Swift have been mentioned in the comparison with the Santro Xing. MUL has also challenged the incorrect description of the Swift's engine and the disparaging remarks that have been made about the Maruti Versa engine (which Hyundai has claimed has been used in the Swift). The legal notice has been served to Hyundai on Maruti's behalf by law firm Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co. The notice calls upon Hyundai to withdraw the advertising brochure "Xing ahead of the Swift" and also seeks a public clarification from the company that assertions made in the handout are untrue. Maruti launched the Suzuki Swift in the last week of May and the car has met with considerable success clocking up over 25,000 bookings till date. With the Swift's pricing (the base LXi variant is still below Rs 4 lakh, ex-showroom) taking the fight right down to the entry-level B-segment cars, the competition was expected to feel the heat. To meet newer competition, Hyundai had revamped the Santro's engine to refine its performance and fuel-efficiency. The company has also recently repositioned the car and slashed the prices of the Santro Xing's variants by up to Rs 19,000.
Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page
|
Stories in this Section |
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | The Hindu Images | Home |
Copyright © 2005, The
Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu Business Line
|