Thinking outside the box

HOW THE BOX-SHAPED WAGON R BALANCED HERITAGE AND REINVENTION TO STAY RELEVANT OVER ITS 25 YEARS

- VIKRAM CHAUDHARY

WHEN IT WAS launched in December 1999 - during the days of the sleek Esteem, Zen, and Cielo - the Wagon R, powered by a 1,061-cc petrol engine, defied aerodynamic convention. It was tall, boxier than a box, and looked like a van-even its name had the word 'wagon'in it.

The response was lukewarm.

After the first full year of sales (2000), the Wagon Rwas at the 11th position, far lower than India's original tall boy car, the Hyundai Santro, which had become India's secondlargest selling car in 2000, after Maruti 800. The Santro had a year's headstart, and was backed by an aggressive marketing campaign featuring Shah Rukh Khan. It took the Wagon R nine years to reach its first 500,000-unit sales, but it hit the next 500,000 units in just four years.

In 2004, the Wagon R got a minor facelift, and an LPG-plus-petrol engine, which changed its fortunes.It started to be accepted as India's definitive 'big small car'. "Indians began seeing it as a rare car in its segment with the unique ability to comfortably accommodate taller passengers despite its compact footprint, and started getting drawn to its exceptional interior packaging and sense of space," says Harish Bijoor, brand strategy expert & founder, Harish Bijoor Consults. "Now, across its three generations, it has remained a perennial best-seller, proving that for the Indian buyer,practical utility and value for money are the ultimate drivers of longevity"