Maruti bags 4,000-Gypsy order from army

Auto major mum on deal value; 22% of domestic Gypsy sales have been taken up by the army

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) recently got its single largest order, of a little over 4,000 units of its sports utility vehicle (SUV), the Gypsy, from the Indian Army.

The company declined to disclose the deal’s financial value, as the contract was finalised through central government tendering. The rate at which vehicles are being supplied to the army is different from the sale price in the domestic market. However, as the Gypsy’s ex-showroom price is Rs 5.42-5.96 lakh in this city, the order should be Rs 216-238 crore.

“The armed forces and paramilitary forces are a major customer for Maruti Suzuki. The army is amongst the major buyers of our vehicles since 1991. Starting with around 1,500 Gypsys the first year, we have sold around 31,000 of these to them. The latest order is the single largest we have had for the Gypsy from the army,” said R S Kalsi, executive director (marketing & sales).

Cumulatively, Maruti Suzuki has manufactured close to about 140,000 Gypsys for the Indian market and 22 per cent of these have been procured by the army. The specifications of those made for the army different from the variants available for sale in the home market. “These (army) vehicles operate in tough terrain, in difficult geographies such as in Ladakh. There are elaborate standards and quality inspection processes, which are carried out continuously. Given the good performance and the adequate availability of spares of our cars, the army prefers the car,” added Kalsi.

The Gypsys supplied to the army are equipped with black-out convoy lights, which emit a green ray during black-outs. The vehicles also have towing hooks and special hooks for mounting of weapons.

Of the latest order of a little over 4,000 vehicles, Maruti  dispatched 2,100 units over the past two months. The rest will be made in the next four to five months. In the previous order, the army had procured around 1,100 Gypsys.

The latest order came after almost two years, due to the austerity drive initiated by the government in mid-2012.  “The government had temporarily stopped purchasing vehicles on account of the drive. But now the DGS&D (the central government purchase and quality assurance organisation) also recently approved the procurement of (our) Ciaz,” said Kalsi.

The Gypsy comes with a 1,298cc petrol engine. With customer preference shifting in favour of diesel in recent years, particularly in the utility vehicle segment, sales of the Gypsy for civilian use have been limited in recent years. A little over 90 per cent of the sales have been to the security forces in recent years.