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Maruti Dzire dethrones Maruti Alto after 13 years; and emerges as India’s highest selling car of 2018!
In a reflection to consumers preference over bigger cars; Dzire emerged as the Sub-continent’s best seller. It is the first time in the Indian Automotive history a compact sedan would’ve been throned as the nation’s best selling car. Dzire sold 2,64,612 units in 2018, a growth of 17.6 percent over 2017 and was higher than Alto’s tally of 2,56,661 units that was stagnant over the previous year. Dzire has been closing in on the Alto over the last 3 years showcasing a growing trend among consumers to opt for bigger, more feature rich cars against bare bones entry level models that depend on lower price point. A look at the Top 10 Selling Cars of Year 2018 –
Dzire’s facelift in May 2017 has helped it register all time high sales.
Alto is now under its peak annual sales of 2011 when it hit 3,11,367 units and also now became the best selling small car in the world in a single market between 2011-14.
Swift and Baleno did impressive volumes each and crossed >2 Lakh sales in Calendar Year 2018. The time is not far where these cars shall overtake Alto volumes as well! Also to note here that both Swift & Baleno clearly outsell its much cheaper sibling Celerio.
The tall boy Wagon R had a forgettable year dropping out of the top 5 for the first time ever with a 8.9 percent decline in sales at 1,52,020 units. It was replaced by the company’s compact SUV Brezza in the top five. However, the refreshed Wagon R is expected to change the scenario this year.
Value Conscious Indian buyer is now ready to spend higher – Hyundai’s Elite i20 for example found more customers at 1,41,104 units than the Grand i10 that clocked 134,249 units.