Maruti Suzuki vehicle subscription plans explained, now available in Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad

The country's largest auto-maker had launched its vehicle leasing program, Maruti Suzuki Subscribe, with monthly subscriptions for vehicle ownership earlier in the year, and has now extended the service to include Delhi NCR and Bengaluru, apart from Hyderabad and Pune. The subscription program allows customers to drive an eligible Maruti Suzuki purely on monthly payments starting from roughly Rs 16,000/month (inclusive of taxes), with no down payment required. At the same time, subscribers are not required to pay for insurance separately, or bear the cost of accidental repairs and maintenance for the specified tenure. Subscribers will have the option of returning, upgrading or buying the car outright at market value at the end of the chosen subscription period.

For now, Maruti Suzuki Subscribe is offered in Delhi NCR and Bengaluru through partner Orix, and Hyderabad and Pune through Myles, after a successful pilot program in the latter two cities. The Maruti Suzuki cars available for subscription include the Swift, Dzire, Brezza and Ertiga, while the Maruti Suzuki Arena cars available are the Baleno, Ciaz and XL6. All the cars are available in either manual or automatic variants across trim levels, with the exception of the Swift and the Dzire. Subscribers will have the option of leasing the car with either white or black registration plates, depending on the location, with the black plate cars registered to the subscription partner instead of in the name of the subscriber. In both cases, an annual mileage limit of 15,000km is imposed, while free 24x7 roadside assistance (up to two a year) and free car pick-up and drop service are offered as part of the subscription price.

Using the Swift as an example, in LXi trim, the subscription for 24 months in Delhi is Rs 16,062/month (with a white plate), while buying the same model outright will cost Rs 5.68 lakh, on-road. The total subscription cost for the two-year period works out to Rs 3.85 lakh, with no service, insurance, accidental repair or maintenance costs transferred to the customer. This is approximately 32 per cent more affordable, while the gap will only increase once maintenance costs and insurance (roughly Rs 5,000 plus Rs 25,000) for a two-year period are considered. At the end of the tenure, if a customer decides to keep the car, the prevalent market value will be decided by the partner service. If a customer decides to upgrade to another car from the Maruti Suzuki Subscribe program, there is a reported loyalty bonus. All cars booked through Subscribe will go to customers as brand new, with returned cars at the end of the lease tenure being sold by the partner service.

Of course, the argument for long-term ownership can be made towards outright purchase of the car as it will be an asset owned. But for customers looking for a new vehicle to use daily on a short-term (one to two year) basis, it might make sense to not deal with any ownership charges, or even the process of re-selling the car, though the economics are still indicative of swinging the other way.