- Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Monday said it’s entry-level small car Alto has become the best-selling model for the 16th year in a row clocking sale of 1.48 lakh units in 2019-20.
The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Monday said it’s entry-level small car Alto has become the best-selling model for the 16th year in a row clocking sale of 1.48 lakh units in 2019-20.
Launched in September 2000, the Alto became India’s bestselling car in 2004 for the first time, the company said in a statement.
MSI Executive Director (Marketing and Sales) Shashank Srivastava said the strong customer base of Alto is a testament of customers appreciating the timely upgrades and refreshments in the brand.
“Maruti Suzuki has been keeping a close eye on the evolving customer preferences and aligning its product range with those changes,” he added.
The current Alto comes with standard safety features, including driver-side airbag, anti-lock braking systems, and electronic brake-force distribution, reverse parking sensor, and high-speed alert system, in line with new regulations.
It also complies with the new health legislation on collisions and pedestrians, the company said.
Last month, Hyundai Motor’s Creta became the number one selling model in the monthly sales numbers for passenger vehicles for the first time, beating the best sellers Maruti Suzuki including Alto and Dzire.
Creta secured a pole position with sales of 3,212 units last month. Maruti Suzuki’s Ertiga followed, taking the second spot with a sale of 2,353 units.
The car major also won third place with its compact Dzire sedan selling 2,215 units. It was followed by the popular Bolero model from Mahindra & Mahindra at the fourth spot with a sale of 1,715 units.
“In April 2020, Maruti Suzuki India Limited had zero domestic sales (including sales to OEM) since all production facilities were closed in compliance with government orders,” said India’s largest carmaker in a statement.
However, after the resumption of port operations, Maruti exported 632 units from the port of Mundra. The organization has said the units have been deployed to ensure all safety guidelines.
Last month, the automobile major had obtained permission from the Gurugram district administration to restart its Manesar plant on a single shift basis while setting the total number of workers at the plant at 4,696. The company then only decided to resume operations when it can maintain continuous vehicle production and sell.
