Maruti Alto sales cross Maruti 800 mark

With a cumulative sales figure of 29 lakh units, the Maruti Suzuki Alto has overtaken the legendary Maruti 800 on the sales charts to become India’s highest selling car.  

As we all know, the Maruti Suzuki Alto has been the highest selling car in India for years on end. Succeeding the car that truly put India on wheels, the legendary Maruti Suzuki 800, the Alto 800 had big shoes to fill as an ever reliable and refined car. An aspect which was a rarity considering the other cars on sale in India at the time.

Needless to say, coming from Maruti Suzuki, the Alto 800 more than fulfilled customer expectations with a much more comfortable ride, being equipped with powering steering, more premium and spacious interiors.

And now, 15 years after it was launched in September of the year 2000, the mighty Alto badge has crossed the cumulative sales figure of 29 lakh units, 29,19,819 units to be precise in October 2015. Maruti Suzuki sold over 28 lakh units of the 800 ever since the launch of the car in December of 1983 to January 2014 when the car was phased out in India.

Commenting on the milestone, Maruti Suzuki Executive Director (Marketing and Sales) R S Kalsi said, "Over the years, Alto has brought happiness to 29 lakh families to become India's largest selling single brand car. With its success, Alto continues to remain the first choice for personal mobility solution for Indian customers."

The Maruti 800 took considerably longer to hit the 28 lakh sales mark while the Alto took 15 years, this is of course because cars sales were significantly lower in the 800’s time. The 800 saw India’s economy change with economic liberalization being implemented in 1991. It saw people gain disposable income, easy availability of car finance and income levels rise in general across India.

Maruti Suzuki tuned the Alto beautifully to meet the needs of ever changing India with face-lifts for the Alto and the launch of a second generation model in the form of the Alto 800 in 2012. A more powerful model badged as the K10 was also launched in 2010 to cater to a greater customer base.  Then in November of 2014, Maruti launched the new K10 in the body of the Alto 800 but with different body panels, windows, lamps and styling cues. The 1.0 litre engine was carried over from the earlier model but a new five-speed AMT automatic gearbox is now offered as an option.