The market leader in the passenger car market, Maruti Suzuki India has asked its 200-odd vendors to cut their component costs by three per cent across the board in the current financial year. In fact, the company has passed this request with an aim of saving around Rs 700 crore for the country's largest car company in the 12 month timeframe.

Going to the financials, the company with net sales of around Rs 29,000 crore, buys nearly 77% of the total components from its vendors and the 3% cut would nearly save the company Rs. 7,000 that would in total come close to around a saving of Rs. 700 crore for the market leader in the fiscal.

R C Bhargava, chairman, Maruti Suzuki said that the company has asked its vendors to control costs that will eventually take the price of the product down. However, the exchange rates movement and raw material costs are out of its control and hence the company can do minor things to control costs on these grounds.

It has also been learnt that Maruti is also working on developing a more fuel-efficient engine that would offer more than the currently offered 20 Km a litre.