Maruti Suzuki Dzire : From Sub-brand to on its Own

Brand: Dzire
Company: Maruti Suzuki

Brand Analysis Count: # 575

From Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire to Maruti Suzuki Dzire, the brand had come a long way. Launched in 2008 as a reaction to the uptick in compact sedan sales, this sub-brand became the second largest selling brand the company's portfolio contributing 14% of the domestic sales. So far 1.38 million Dzires were sold in the country.

The brand launched as a sub-brand of the best selling hatchback Swift, the brand easily caught the fancy of the sedan-loving consumers of India. Dzire in all sense was a Swift with a boot. But customers loved the car.

In a brand promotion perspective, there was nothing remarkable about the brand's communication. There were regular campaigns for the brand which focused more on the " Desirability "  factor. The focus of the ads was to lure a trade-up to a bigger car. 

The major factor that pulled customers to Swift Dzire was the practicality. The car gave the performance of Swift with a bonus of a boot. However, on the design front, it was not aesthetically perfect. 

The success of compact sedans which was largely aided by the tax- rebate on sub 4meter cars, caught the fancy of all the car makers and most brands started launching their versions in this segment. The cars became better looking and proportionate and not like the hatchback+boot kind of design.

This has probably prompted the market leader to look at Dzire in a different light. The sub-brand not only got promoted as an independent brand but also got a brand new design. Interestingly the new Dzire shares the design (oops !) with new Swift but was launched much ahead of the new Swift. 

Although the front of the new Dzire looks very classy, the boot still derives the design cues of the older version which is a letdown.  One has to see the new Swift to make a judgment whether the new Dzire is entirely new or not.

However, from the branding perspective, we have one more example of a sub-brand becoming a standalone brand and Dzire truly deserves that status.