[S2!!!]

The Maruti Suzuki Alto has just beaten the Maruti 800's cumulative sales by reaching 29 lakh households over its 15 year life cycle. In comparison, the Maruti 800 had reached over 27 lakh households at the time of its demise, in 2014, after ruling the Indian market for over two decades. Cumulative sales of the Alto as of October 2015 stand at 29,19,819 units.

It was in the year 2000 that Maruti launched the Alto as a more upmarket alternative to the Maruti 800 (then India's best selling model). The Alto was introduced in 2 variants - F8D (796cc) LX with 47 BHP and F10D (1061cc) VX with 63 BHP. Despite being more powerful, better equipped and priced merely Rs. 34,000 more than the 800 DLX, the Alto simply couldn't match the 800's volumes.

It was after some re-positioning of the two cars, prioritizing Alto's factory supplies over the 800's and some aggressive dealer push that the Alto managed to dethrone the 800 and become Maruti's new 'bread & butter' car. The 800 received such step-motherly treatment that it wasn't even upgraded to meet BSIV emission norms in 2010. In 2012, Maruti introduced a refreshed Alto 800 which cleverly capitalized on the Alto's as well as the 800's strong brand equity. Finally, in 2014 the ol' Maruti 800's production was completely rested.



Maruti's strong brand recall, superior resale value, widespread sales & support network and overall affordability, still makes the Alto the first choice for thousands of buyers across the country, consistently selling ~22,000 copies month after month.

Source: ET Auto

[i74js]

It is the judicious product planning, keeping masses happy with both capital investment in purchase and aftersales experience both in terms of vehicle turnaround and outreach of MSIL dealerships that the entry level car was a perpetual hit.

MSIL was able to replicate this with Swift / Dzire combo which put together are selling almost at 170-200% of Alto.

One thing which other players have learned / should learn from MSIL is "do not get afraid of product cannibalization" just make sure that the buyer stays with the brand and keep the sales register ringing.

Cheers to MSIL for brilliant market strategy and consistent customer satisfaction in volume driven market.

[Deblovestodrive]

I think this was pretty much expected and just a matter of time. Does anyone have a historical data of which cars comes in the 3rd to 10th position. I would guess Santro, WagonR, Swift, Zen, esteem, bolero, sumo and ambassador to wind up the remaining slots.

[GTO]

Well, the market has grown, so it was expected that the Alto will manage the feat in a shorter time than the Maruti 800.

One record that will remain unbeaten is that the Maruti 800 was the top performer in India for a straight 20 years (save for a month here & there). The Alto has frequently conceded the no.1 spot to its siblings.

On the other hand, the Alto has maintained its form, despite competition...a term that the Maruti 800 didn't have in its dictionary.

Both are icons of the industry. Well done.

Originally Posted by i74js

One thing which other players have learned / should learn from MSIL is "do not get afraid of product cannibalization" just make sure that the buyer stays with the brand and keep the sales register ringing.

. As someone once said, cannibalize your own products, otherwise someone else will do it for you.

[procrastinator]

Let's not forget the AltoK10 which has been adding numbers to the overall sales from last five years.
Apparently, it has been able to attract the young and first time buyers with its fun to drive factor and excellent fuel efficiency.

I wish they gift us this festive season a stiffer chassis, Dual Airbags and ABS atleast as an option in every variant than cheesier decals or limited editions.