Maruti Suzuki India introduced the all-new Baleno hatchback, in the Indian market, in 2015. Since then, the premium hatchback has become the highest selling car in the segment and has posted high sales figures of 4 lakh units. The Baleno is the highest selling model in the segment and, on an average, sells around 18,000 units per month, which is almost double that of the Elite i20, which is the second best-seller in the segment. The Baleno sells through Maruti’s Nexa premium retail chain and is the first premium hatchback from the Indian brand in India. To give a perspective, Maruti has sold 1,04,189 units of Baleno in last six months while Hyundai sold 69,227 units of Elite i20 hatchback in the same period. Here’s why the Baleno sells so much.
Maruti brand value: Maruti is an extremely well-reputed brand in India. It is one of the oldest brands available in the Indian market and has captured almost 50% of the domestic market share. This ensures a lot of brand visibility on the road and builds trust among prospective customers.
Feature-loaded: The Baleno comes loaded with features. The Baleno gets features, such as touchscreen infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, keyless entry and start/stop, navigation, rear parking sensors, rear camera, steering mounted audio controls, standard ABS, EBD and dual airbags in all variants. It may not be as loaded as its competitors but the competitive price makes it popular among customers.
Can be customised: Maruti officially offers a lot of customisation options for the car including various decals and racing stripes. There are also body kits that are officially available for the premium hatchback and makes it unique.
Maruti network: Maruti Suzuki has the highest number of service station network across India. The ease of maintenance of the hatchback and the low cost of service makes it the first choice of customers who are shopping in the segment.
The Baleno is powered by both petrol and diesel engine options and offers a high fuel efficiency of 21.4 km/l for the petrol and 27.3 km/l for the diesel version. Maruti also offers a CVT automatic variant with the petrol variants and there is a hot-hatch Baleno RS variant of the model available in the market too.