Snapshot – The car industry in India are still going through a rough patch as far as sales are concerned. However, with the new government in place and with the anticipated push to the economy, these sales figures may show a lot of improvement in the months to come. In May 2014 though, the Indian car industry did slightly better than the same month last year, with 2.03 lakh units dispatched to dealers across the country, as compared to the 1.9 lakh units during the same period last year. There’s a churn at the top though and a surprising one.

Maruti Suzuki Dzire

The Maruti Dzire compact sedan is the best selling car in India for the month of May 2014, with 18,953 units dispatched to dealers across the country. These numbers are phenomenal to say the least, especially when the competition has hotted up with the likes of the Honda Amaze and Hyundai Xcent also aiming for the same set of buyers. The Dzire is sold in petrol and diesel engined variants.

Maruti Suzuki Swift

The second best selling car in India for May 2014 is the Swift B+ segment hatchback with wholesale sales 17,936 units, another major success for Maruti Suzuki. Though the competition offers products that better the Swift in many areas, the B+ segment hatchback is a well rounded package that simply has the competition covered. The Swift shares its petrol and turbo diesel engines with the Dzire.

Maruti Suzuki Alto

The Alto has been de-crowned from being the number one selling car in India during May 2014 by its stablemate, the Dzire. 17,311 units of the Alto were shipped to Maruti Suzuki dealers in May. Demand in the entry level segment are seeing a trough, reflective of the overall sentiment in the car industry. Like the Alto, sales of entry level cars such as the Tata Nano, Chevrolet Spark, Datsun Go and the Hyundai Eon, have all seen a slump. The Alto is available in petrol and CNG guises, and with a choice of two engine displacements.

Maruti Suzuki WagonR

The WagonR, a practical tall-boy hatchback, has yet another strong month, with 11,757 units being dispatched to dealers in May 2014. The WagonR completes the Maruti Suzuki quartet of top four selling cars in India. The WagonR is sold with petrol, CNG and LPG engine options. A diesel engine is on the cards in a couple of years. The car is known for its bullet proof reliability in an inexpensive package.

Hyundai i10 Grand

The Hyundai i10 Grand is India’s fifth best selling car in May 2014 with wholesale sales of 9,317 units. The car is also Hyundai’s best selling car, beating cheaper offerings such as the Eon and Santro Xing hollow. The Grand i10 is a feature rich car available with petrol and diesel engine options. The car interiors are a revelation, whose quality levels surpass those of many more expensive cars.

Mahindra Bolero

The hardy Bolero continues flying the Mahindra flag high with dealer dispatches of 8,846 units. A darling of semi-urban and rural India, the old warrior from Mahindra continues to do well despite being a decade old. Constant refreshes seem to have done the trick for the Mahindra Bolero. Available with turbo diesel engine options, the Bolero is due for a full model change next year.

Hyundai Xcent

The recently launched Xcent compact sedan continues to bag the big sales for Hyundai, with 7,792 units clocked in May. The compact sedan has eaten away sales of the Honda Amaze, but hasn’t been able to snag marketshare from the Dzire, which continues to dominate proceedings. Like the Grand i10, the Xcent is loaded with features, and comes with top quality interiors. The car is sold with petrol and turbo diesel engines.

Honda City

The Honda City clocked 7,216 units in May 2014, a number that is greater than the sales of all other C-Segment sedans put together. That says a story, doesn’t it? The Honda City’s dominance in the C-Segment sedan space is absolute and the addition of the 1.5 liter i-DTEC turbo diesel engine in the latest version is making all the difference. The City is also available with a petrol engine.

Hyundai Eon

With wholesale sales of 6,300 units in May, the Hyundai Eon isn’t going great guns. The Eon’s sales is also reflective of the slump in sales in the entry level hatchback segment. The Eon is sold with Petrol and LPG engines, and the hatchback recently received a new, 1 liter engine to supplement with 814 cc motor. All said, the Eon has not been a big success for Hyundai.

Maruti Omni

A car, in fact a passenger van that is 3 decades old, still manages to find a place in the top ten selling cars of India list, consistently. That’s the story of the Maruti Omni, an old soldier that proves that utility precedes all else in India. The Omni is sold with petrol, LPG and CNG options, and is also available in panel van guise. Maruti Suzuki put 6,104 units of the Omni into dealer stockyards in May.