The country's largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India, today said it has roped in

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Bollywood actor R Madhavan as the brand face for its popular hatchback WagonR as it aims to increase sale of the car in South India.

The company said it carried out a consumer study before signing the actor and his signing would help increase the brand equity of WagonR nationally and more specifically in the southern parts of India.

"We feel that associating with a personality such as Madhavan will certainly reinforce the brand values of WagonR at an all-India level.

"Additionally, the tie-up is going to give a boost to WagonR’s key performance indicators in key southern cities such as Bengalaru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Cochin," Maruti Suzuki Chief General Manager Shashank Srivastava said.

WagonR is among the most popular models from MSI with average monthly sales of 12,000 units and a cumulative customer base of 7.45 lakhs.

"Going forward, we feel, the brand shall have an exceptional foothold in the Southern market as well. Given the popularity of Madhavan in the South, the masses will relate to the brand more strongly with a local icon becoming the face of the brand," he added.