Maruti Suzuki Celerio hits highest ever yearly sales of 1 lakh+ units

Maruti Suzuki’s budget hatchback – the Celerio – has just crosses 1 lakh units in terms of sales in Fiscal Year 2018  -19. In 2018-19, Maruti sold 103,734 units of the Celerio, a 10 % increase in sales. This is the highest ever yearly sales logged by the car ever since it was launched in 2014, at the Auto Expo of  that year. Back then, the Maruti Suzuki Celerio’s prices started from Rs. 3.9 lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi. Currently,  prices of the car start from Rs. 4.41 lakhs. Over the last 5 years, Maruti has sold about 4.7 lakh units of the Celerio.

Notably, Maruti added a slew of safety features to the Celerio, in order to make it comply with the Bharat New  Vehicle Safety Assessment Program (BNVSAP) norms. The car gets a driver airbag, ABS, reverse parking sensors, ISOFIX child seat mounting points, central locking, speed alert system and seat belt reminders, as standard safety features. Higher variants add a passenger airbag to the equation.

Mr. R S Kalsi, Senior Executive Director – Marketing & Sales at Maruti Suzuki India Limited had this to say about the  Celerio’s sales performance,

We are delighted that this glorious benchmark has been achieved by Celerio. With evolved design, technology and ease of driving, Celerio has successfully won hearts of many Indian customers. It was the first car to democratize two-  pedal technology and the recent upgrade in its safety features has significantly enhanced its appeal as the perfect city car. Based on customer feedback, we have continuously provided new contemporary features in Celerio to keep them delighted.

Meanwhile, here are four key aspects about the Celerio’s sales in the past five years:

• Nearly 31% of customers opted for Auto Gear Shift variants
• Top variant ZXI contributes over 52% of total sales
• 20% of total Celerio sales are of CNG variant

The Celerio sold in India is available with a single engine option: a 1 liter-3 cylinder naturally aspirated K-Series  petrol motor with 67 Bhp-90 Nm outputs. The engine is also available with a CNG-Petrol dual fuel option with detuned outputs of 58 Bhp-78 Nm. A five speed manual gearbox is standard while a 5 speed automated manual transmission is offered as an option. The Celerio was also available with a twin cylinder, turbocharged diesel engine in the past, which Maruti had to discontinue due to poor sales.

Notably, the Maruti Celerio was the first car in India to be offered with an automated manual transmission – a feature that is now very popular in budget car segments. The AMT unit that the Celerio uses is sourced from Magneti Marelli, an Italian car parts maker owned by the Fiat group. Apart from the Celerio, the AMT option is offered on a slew of Maruti cars such as the Swift, Dzire, WagonR, Alto K10 and the Vitara Brezza.