India’s most popular car, Maruti Suzuki Alto has been dominating the market ever since its launch in 2000. Introduced as replacement to the legendary Maruti 800, the Alto 800 had succeeded the former with 29 lakh sales in just 15 years. Interestingly, it became the first made-in-India car to be the world’s best-selling small car in 2014. Beating the Volkswagen Golf, Honda Fit, Toyota Aqua and Daihatsu Tanto, the Alto won the prestigious honour.
Keeping up the sales momentum, the Maruti Suzuki Alto continues to be the top-selling entry-level hatchback in the first five months of 2017. And that’s despite the fact that the competition in the entry-level space has become really fierce. The small car has registered a total sales of over 1.07 lakh units. These impressive sales figures show the strong trust the first time car buyers have in the Alto brand. The total monthly sales of the hatchback is more than the combined volumes sold by its competitors in the country.
Attributes that have worked in favour of the Maruti Alto are its compact design, high fuel efficiency and most importantly affordable pricing. Maruti’s low maintenance cost and extensive nationwide service network further aid to its popularity among buyers. Most of its sales (around 25%) comes from young buyers below 30 years of age, and interestingly this contribution has been increased by 4% in the past three years. Read – New-Generation Maruti Suzuki Alto In The Works
While the Maruti Alto was first launched in India in September 2000, its more powerful version (1.0L) Alto K10 was rolled out in 2010-11. Aiming to boost its sales over the time, the Indo-Japanese carmaker has made multiple upgrades to the hatchback. In the fiscal year 2016-17, the company exported over 21,000 units of Alto to overseas markets including Sri Lanka, Philippines, Chile and Uruguay.
Currently, the Alto comes with two powertrain options – a 796cc and K10 along with a CNG fuel version. The 796cc petrol unit makes 47bhp at 6,000rpm and 69Nm at 3,500rpm. Paired with the conventional 5-speed gearbox, it delivers a claimed mileage of 24.70kmpl. It’s more powerful version – Alto K10 is available with Maruti’s clutch-less Auto Gear Shift Transmission (AGS) technology. AGS makes driving comfortable in heavy city traffic conditions, without compromising on fuel efficiency.
