Maruti Alto is India’s best selling car of 2019 FY: Dzire & Swift follow

The Maruti Suzuki Alto has for long been the best selling car of India. The entry-level hatchback again got the crown of the best selling car in the fiscal year 2019. Note that here we are referring to fiscal year which means from March 2018 to March 2019. Considering sales for the manufacture year 2018-2019, the Maruti Suzuki Dzire was crowned the best selling vehicle in this duration. Coming to the Alto, Maruti sold a total of 2,59,401 units of the hatchback in the FY 2018-2019. However, there is no increment in the sales percentage from the previous fiscal year, that is, FY 2017-2018. During the previous Fiscal Year (2017-2018), Maruti Suzuki sold 2,58,539 units of the Alto and therefore the growth is less than 1,000 units, resulting in almost zero growth percentage.

The Maruti Suzuki Alto is closely followed by the Dzire and the Swift. Maruti sold 2,53,859 units of the Dzire in FY 2018-2019. On the other hand, the company sold 2,23,924 units of the Swift in the same time duration. following the Swift are the Baleno, Vitara Brezza, and the WagonR. This translates into the top 6 best selling positions occupied by Maruti Suzuki in the FY 2018-2019. However, the sales of the Dzire were only marginally behind the Alto during this period which indicates that more and more people are now moving away from the affordable hatchback segment and opting for either the mid-size hatchbacks or going for the sub-4 meter sedans.

This shift in buying pattern hints towards the maturity of the Indian car market. The increase in the market share of the SUV segment also suggests the same. In fact, the SUV segment is showing quite a good growth rate due to which many manufacturers like Tata and Toyota have shelved their plans of bringing a sedan here. Tata shelved the plans for the E-Vision sedan while reports suggest that Toyota recently decided against bringing the updated version of the Corolla sedan to India. Most of the brands are now focusing on launching SUV in every segment. The best sales in the SUV segment is gathered by the sub-4 meter SUV segment, which is also the most affordable one.

Coming to the Alto, the good old hatchback will be discontinued this year due to the upcoming BSVI emission norms and the BNSVAP safety norms. Maruti currently sells two variants of the Alto in India, the affordable Alto 800 and the peppy Alto K10. Maruti has begun testing of the new generation Alto in India and spy shots of the car have surfaced already. It sports a taller stance and an SUV-inspired design language, which was first seen on the Renault Kwid in the entry-level hatchback segment. The new generation Maruti Suzuki Swift will be loosely based on the Future-S concept, which the company showcased at the 2018 iteration of the Delhi Auto Expo.

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