Maruti DZire Is The Most Sold Car In India Outselling The Alto
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The Maruti Alto had been India’s bestselling car year on year for over a decade now selling over 25 lakh units in 15 years of sales. The competition however has been a distant second in terms of sales. However, it now seems that with changing times, customer preferences are also changing towards vehicles. An aspirational car for the first time buyer, the Alto lost its top spot to the Maruti DZire, which outsold the entry-level hatchback in May this year.
The Maruti DZire sold 18,953 units in the month of May, followed by the Swift hatchback selling 17,936 units in the last month. The Alto however was third on the list with 17,311 units sold in the previous month. While the Alto may have been pushed down on the podium, it is Maruti Suzuki which is laughing all the way to the bank with all three of its products making it to the top. Even though Alto’s sales have dipped, it is still far ahead in the segment where it competes with the Hyundai Eon, Chevrolet Spark and the newly launched Datsun GO.
The compact sedan segment has surely generated a lot of hype in the recent years. With consumers looking for a premium feel with the sedan body style along with peppy and frugal engine options; the compact sedan is seen as a value for money package for small car buyers. The Maruti DZire is certainly more spacious, powerful, tech laden and premium over the Alto, and is a much more compelling package.
However, we also need to factor in that the Alto’s sales have been consistent over the years, while the DZire has scored sales courtesy of the new segment boom. Moreover, previous Maruti Alto owners are now upgrading to bigger vehicles like the Swift or DZire as they come with the same reliability and after sales service commitment from the company. The compact sedan segment was one of the few segments to grow by 4 percent to 2.33 lakh units, while the overall auto market saw a drop by 5 percent.
The case seems to be similar with other automakers as well. The newly launched Hyundai Xcent compact sedan has also witnessed impressive growth within few months of launch. The South Korean manufacturer sold 7192 units of the Xcent last month, while its entry-level hatchback the Eon managed to sell 6300 units in May this year. The DZire is due for a facelift in the coming months, while the Alto will also be updated early next year.
Why car companies shot up the price of their products in India. For instance, bmw x5 is available in usa at $53725 which means 33lacs whereas in india it is priced at 70-80 lacs. Is it fair to do so? Are they doing it deliberately just to create their flamboyant image in the mind of indian costumers or they think that we are fools? Pls write an article about this
It’s because in USA they are manufactured more than 70% locally. In India, it might be only 30% or even lower percentage of the complete car is manufactured locally…
Hi kag. I understand your point of concern. The actual reason is the tax structure. Indian government wants to give employment opportunities to Indian citizens which means they want all the companies to set up a manufacturing plant in India rather than directly importing from other country and just selling it. So, to depromote import, they are taxing the cars as much as 110% which means if the cost of the car is 10 lakhs, they have to pay 11 lakhs tax. Now the cost comes to around 21 lakhs. Now include road tax, etc etc, the cost shoots up to 25-26 Lakhs. Thats why a Mini Cooper or a Abarth 500 retails at around 25 Lakhs. This mode of bringing the full car and selling is called CBU Import (Completely Built Unit Import)
There is two more options.
1. CKD (Completely Knocked Down Import) : Car makers can import all the spare parts from their foreign manufacturing facility and just assemble the car here. If they do in this mode, the tax is not 110% but will be around 70%. Example: Jaguar XJ was selling at around 1.3 crores when it was imported as CBU. Now since it is assembled here via CKDs, the price is now reduced by around 30 Lakhs!
2. Set up a manufacturing facility: For cars that are selling low volumes, setting up a manufacturing facility will cost the company too much. So manufacturers will set up plants only when they sell high volumes. Example: Honda CR-V is imported but Amaze is manufactured here. For a car that sells only few hundred units a month, it is not wise to set up a plant by investing 4000-5000 crores. If cars are manufactured in India, the tax ranges from 12% to 30% only depending on the body style, engine displacement, etc. A small car with a small engine attracts lower duty and a large car with large engine attracts higher duty.
Again if the car is a Diesel, the tax is more because Government is already giving subsidy for diesel. You pay more for your car initially but you get the fuel at a subsidised cost!
I hope I cleared your doubt!
Nice input there Saran.totally agree with you.tad first of all know some facts then comment here.lol :-D :-P
sorry its Kag not tad -typo :-P
most selling,most ugly & most crap car.tin can marutis hate u so much.why indians buy this crap brands.better to go with japs or euros.koreans also good.but maruti is shit.get the hell out from india u piece of shit
Do you know, Maruti Suzuki is a Indian-Japanese venture. Their cars are more reliable than even BMW,Mercedes,Audi,Volkswage,Renault, Skoda etc. Typical Indian brainless idiot who buys cars just for features and free stereo to listen to crappy Hindi/Tamil Music. You have zero knowledge of Vehicle Dynamics, Engines. No car on this planet is useless if it can take you from one place to another. Get real knowledge of Vehicles and then talk about love and hate.
Oh really?how rigid & strong your shit tin can maruti is?does reliability always matters?if yes then go with honda.they are safe,anjoyable & reliable.not like your tin can.my uncle got severe injury in his dzire when he met an accident last month.his car is crushed.& it crashed with a tata safari.thank god that wasn’t a truck.otherwise you know what happen.& i’m always support safety over anything.your tin can don’t even come close to germans.do u think they are fool who buys german cars?you are pointing me that i don’t know anything.so who knows better?you?huh!i didn’t think so.grow up.
Right they buy expensive or better to say IMPORTED cars just for flaunting themselves. I’ll prefer to buy maruti over ultra luxuries vehicles and with the rest of money like to do charity. It is ironical, where many cant manage to get two square meals others are roaming in IMPORTED cars.
Is that our fault that someone don’t get food?what do u think is it easy to be rich?i’m also not very rich.so chill.
talking about cars?again how safe ur maruti is?better than germans?lol rich people knows facts very well unlike u who always follows neighbour or relatives advice.drive european cars then you will know what is diffrence between tin cans & WELL BUILT CARS?
dibyanjan.I agree with you for 1 fact that the german cars are well built than maruti.As an average indian who is going to buy a car for the first time will always think about maruti.Maruti is not only a brand but also a spirit as well as feeling as a manufacturer who gifted normal Indians a wonderful driving experience.Indians are always cost & price conscious.So definitely will prefer Maruti or Hyundai.Not germens.Maruti know what the people need.and that’s why people prefer maruti over any other manufacturer.If you have a German car you go with it.Don’t care about others
Agreed,thats the fact no one can change.i’m not saying maruti is bad.their A.s.s is very good.but in safety factor they lacks.i want to see them making safe as well as vfm cars.then i proudly recommend maruti.
i’m an i10 owner.its my first car.its a good city car.but it also lacks.safety.mine was sportz(0) which has only 1 airbag!in minor accidents the car got lots of damages.thats not happen on my dad’s opel corsa.thats a gr8 car.so safety matters.