The Maruti Suzki Alto Has Been India's Best Selling Car For 16 Years; Over 38 Lakh Units Sold

The Maruti Suzuki Alto has been a strong seller for the company ever since it's launch. It's now the best-selling car for the past 16 years in a row. Launched in September 2000, the Alto was popular amongst those who wanted a new car and one that was affordable too. The Alto's legacy spans across two decades and it's been India's bestselling car since 2004. When it was launched in 2000, the Alto was seen as a premium offering, as in many ways it was a replacement for the very popular Zen. True to Maruti Suzuki's India strategy though, the Zen wasn't phased out but the Alto drove in alongside it. Maruti Suzuki offered the Alto in two variants – the 796cc LX and the 1100 cc VX – that had the more powerful Wagon R engine, and better interiors. By 2001 Hyundai had upped the ante with power steering on the Santro, and the Alto (along with several Maruti models) also went the power steering way – adding an ‘i' to the variant names – hence we got LXi and VXi.

0tpfuh1o

The company has sold 38 lakh units of the Alto in India 

Also Read: Maruti Suzuki Alto CNG Launched

We have the numbers to tell you how popular it exactly was.  By 2008, Maruti Suzuki had sold 10 lakh units of the car, by 2012, sales had crossed the 20 lakh mark and in 2016, the company had managed to sell 30 lakh units of the car. It was not that the Alto didn't have rivals. Tata Motors' Nano, Renault's Kwid, all were worthy rivals but the Alto was clearly ahead of the rest in terms of sales.

Also Read: Maruti Suzuki Alto Now Available With Smartplay Studio

ea6v5b9g

The Alto provided a good sense of space for the family 

Shashank Srivastava, Executive Director (Marketing & Sales), Maruti Suzuki India Limited said, “Backed by a strong legacy, the Alto continues to appeal to customers across the length and breadth of the country, with 76% customers choosing it as their 1st car.”

The strength of the Alto nameplate allowed Maruti to relaunch a powerful engine variant when it drove in with the K10, although with the 998cc K-Series engine, unlike the erstwhile 1100c. The new look Alto 800 won the NDTV Car and Bike Entry Hatchback Award in 2013 – which validated the company's claim on how much work was carried out to alter the vehicle, despite maintaining the same platform. The Alto K10 also finally went under the scalpel two years later, with similar rejuvenated looks and the very important addition of the automated manual transmission variant.

The Alto remains India's largest selling car by volume for over a decade. It has also notched up other firsts like being the first car to achieve over 2,00,000 unit sales in a single year – in 2006 – a figure it hasn't dropped below for over a decade now.  



from CarandBike - Latest News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Harley-Davidson Streetfighter Spotted In Flesh For The First Time

Image
Harley-Davidson unveiled a range of new motorcycles last year that included an adventure tourer, streetfighter and Custom range. This, along with the LiveWire electric motorcycle defines the new-age 21st century offerings from the manufacturer as it taps into newer markets and caters to an evolving customer base. Now, giving a glimpse of the new models out in the open, the new Harley-Davidson Streetfighter was spotted in the prototype version at what seems to be a trade show in the US, giving a good glimpse at motorcycle looks like in flesh. While board says 'Styling Prototype', the production-spec version of the Streetfighter is likely to stay identical to the model showcased here. In addition to the Streetfighter, the Pan America was also showcased at the same event. The production spec versions of both bikes could be unveiled at EICMA this year. Also Read: Harley-Davidson Livewire To Be Unveiled In India In August The Harley-Davidson Streetfighter is a completely new mot...
Read more

Brixton 1200 To Rival Triumph Bonneville T120

Image
A 1200 cc modern classic with similar design lines as Triumph's iconic Bonneville series, has reportedly been cleared for production. The bike was showcased as a concept at last year's EICMA motorcycle show, and from the looks of it, this is a model developed in China with the Triumph Bonneville T120 in its sights. The Brixton brand though is part of Austria's KSR Group, which imports bikes from several Chinese manufacturers, including CF Moto. And while the new Bonneville rival will be manufactured in China, the design and engineering has been created at KSR's design centre in Krups, Austria. Also Read: Triumph Bonnville T120 First Ride Review The Brixton 1200 cc motorcycle has not been named yet, or a launch timeline announced So far, the company has not committed to a launch date yet, but says that it will eventually make it to production. And from the looks of it, that may well be sometime later this year, maybe even at the EICMA 2020 show in Milan, Italy, in...
Read more

Zongshen Cyclone RX6 Based On Norton 650 Nearing Completion

Image
While there still doesn't seem to be a buyer for iconic British brand Norton Motorcycles which went into administration in January this year, the firm's 650 cc parallel-twin seems to be finding life in China. While Norton apparently sold off the engine rights of its 961 engine to China's Jinglang just before the brand went into administration, the deal for the 650 cc engine was finalized way back in 2017 with Chinese giant Zongshen. The 650 cc parallel-twin engine was due to be used in Norton's Atlas and Superlight models, but now it looks like that engine platform will make its debut in a Zongshen motorcycle, called the Cyclone R6. Also Read: How Much Is Norton Motorcycles Worth Now? One of the patent designs shows the Cyclone RX6 with full touring accessories and luggage Two prototypes fitted with the 650 cc parallel-twin engine were shown in China late last year, on the Zongshen Cyclone RX6 adventure bike and the RX6 sport tourer. Both bikes used Zongshen-made...
Read more