India’s most loved car the Maruti Suzuki Alto also happens to be the largest selling small car in the world for 2013, ousting competition from marquees like the Toyota Aqua and Volkswagen Gol. Launched in 2000, the Alto has proven to be the quintessential choice of a four-wheeler for the first time car buyer or for someone moving up from a two-wheeler. The small car has been accepted very well by emerging markets and has been the largest selling small car in the country for nine consecutive years.
The Maruti Alto saw a decline in sales of 7.3 percent at 2,65,777 units in 2013 considering the overall downward trend in the automotive industry. The car however, still managed to beat Toyota’s small car, the Aqua in Japan that saw a 2 percent decline in sales at 2,62,367 units, while the largest selling small car in 2012 the Volkswagen Gol saw a 13 percent decline in sales at 2,55,057 units in the Brazilian market. The Fiat Uno, another popular small car in Brazil saw a 28 percent decline with sales limited to 2,00,000 units in 2013.
The introduction of the new Alto 800 in 2012 with a comprehensive upgrade also did not help the small car retain its peak sales figures of over 3 lakhs units that was achieved in 2010. The global downward trend of economy has been cited for the lack of sales in the segment. The companies do believe the sales will be healthy again, once the economy stabilises with the prospective target sales surpassing the current one.
The other small cars that set the cash registers ringing for their manufacturers in the previous year, were the VW Golf in Germany with 2,4,249 units. The Kei (cars that comply with Japan’s small car regulations) cars sold in Japan like the Honda N-Box selling 2,34,995 units and Diahatsu Move at 2,05,333 units also managed impressive numbers. In India, the Alto managed to retain its position after receiving some serious threat from Hyundai’s Eon in the segment. Even the lesser priced Tata Nano could not deter the Alto’s sales. The upcoming Datsun GO hatchback is expected to pose a challenge to the Alto when launched later this month.
