Maruti, Indian Auto major, 54.2 percent owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp., will have to stop selling its iconic Maruti 800 which was launched in 1982. Maruti is now looking to reduce the number of its vehicle platforms. This will mean phasing out of some products that don’t meet emission norms.

Sales of Maruti 800 would be discontinued in 13 cities from April 2010. The cities where BSIV norms will set in from April 2010 are Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Kanpur, Surat and Agra.

Except these cities, Maruti can sell its Maruti800 car in other regions of the country for the next 5-6 years, until the new BSIV norms come into practice.

Maruti is fighting back to hold its number one position in the small car segment by taking various strategies ranging from phasing out one of its iconic brand Zen. Also, the company is sharpening its edges to make Alto its most successful model.
    
Its competitors including Toyota, Volkswagen, Ford and Nissan are ready to launch small cars in India. Meanwhile, India based auto maker Tata Motors is also competing to take the tag of entry-level carmaker from Maruti Suzuki by launching its Nano, priced significantly below the M800.