Gurgaon, Oct 6 (IANS): India's largest passenger car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki Monday launched its mid-sized sedan Ciaz with introductory ex-showroom Delhi price starting at Rs.699,000.

The petrol variants of the sedan are priced between Rs.699,000 and Rs.934,000 while the diesel variants are priced between Rs.804,000 and Rs.980,000 (ex-showroom Delhi prices).

"Millions of Indians have enjoyed Maruti cars for years. These customers are looking to upgrade to mid-sized sedans. Ciaz is for them," Maruti Suzuki chief executive Kenichi Ayukawa told mediapersons here.

"Ciaz has been designed keeping in mind the needs and expectations of Indian sedan customers," he added.

Ciaz comes both in petrol and diesel variants, powered by 1.4 litre and 1.3 litre engines, respectively.

The Indo-Japanese collaboration, which has invested Rs.620 crore on development of Ciaz, also plans to export the sedan to markets in the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.

Since bookings opened last month, the company has received orders for 10,000 units of Ciaz, which will replace the SX4 sedan.

Last week, Maruti Suzuki reported a healthy sales growth of 4.6 percent in total sales, including exports, for September at 109,742 units. Domestic sales rose nearly 10 percent to 99,290 units during the month, as compared to 90,399 units sold in the corresponding month of last year.

Overall, the mid-sized segment witnesses sales of around 16,000 units per month.

Maruti Suzuki is the maker of passenger car brands like Maruti 800, Alto, A-Star, WagonR, Swift, Estilo, Ritz, Dzire, Celerio and SX4.