Maruti Suzuki has launched 'MS Dhoni inspired' special editions of the Alto hatchback. Both - the Alto 800 and the Alto K10 have received the treatment. The Alto 800 MS Dhoni edition is available only in the LXi trim, while the K10 gets it in both - LXi and VXi trims. The special edition models get cosmetic and functional feature additions, and hence, come at a premium of Rs. 16,777 and Rs. 12,777 over the regular Alto 800 and the Alto K10 respectively.

Added features on the MS Dhoni Alto special edition include the cricketer's signature decal and new body graphics, reverse parking sensors with bar graph display, and new seat covers with the number '7' etched on them. 7 is considered to be Dhoni's lucky number, and is also his Jersey number. The special edition also gets a steering cover, carpet mat, roof-mounted rear spoiler, door sill guard, and ambient lighting. The Alto 800 LXi has additionally been given a 1-DIN MP3 system with USB and AUX connectivity.

The interiors of the special edition Altos can be opted for in two dual-tone colours - black & silver, and red & blue. Owners will also be given an MS Dhoni inspired merchandise kit with every car. No mechanical changes have been made to the Alto 800 as well as the Alto K10.

The special editions models are available in all Maruti Suzuki dealerships from the first week of October.

The Maruti Suzuki Alto has crossed the 30 lakh sales mark in the Indian market. Launched in September 2000, it has taken the car about 15 years and 6 months to achieve this milestone. It's the only Indian car to achieve this feat.

Maruti Suzuki has also exported over 3.8 lakh units of the Alto to more than 70 countries across the world with Sri Lanka, Algeria, Chile, UK and Netherlands being its top markets.

The Alto is Maruti's entry-level car and at present, comes in two variants - Alto 800 and Alto K10. The Alto 800 is powered by a 796cc, 3-cylinder petrol engine that produces 47 BHP and 69 Nm of torque. The Alto K10 comes with a 998cc, 3-cylinder petrol engine that develops 67 BHP and 90 Nm of torque. Both cars come with a 5-speed manual transmission. The K10 is available with an automated manual transmission as well. CNG versions of the Alto are also available.  

Cumulative sales milestones:

• September 2000 - National launch in Delhi
• October 2003 - 1 lakh units
• August 2006 - 5 lakh units
• November 2008 - 10 lakh units
• October 2010 - 15 lakh units
• April 2012 - 20 lakh units
• March 2014 - 25 lakh units
• February 2016 - 30 lakh units

The average monthly sales of the Alto over the past 10 years exceed 22,000 units.

Maruti Suzuki has announced that it will offer a driver airbag as an option on all variants of the Alto 800 and Alto K10. The cars will be available with an ORVM on the left side as well.

The Alto has been India’s No. 1 selling car for 10 years in a row. In FY 2014-15, the average monthly sale of Alto was over 22,000 units. Since its launch in the year 2000, the Alto has sold over 29 lakh units cumulatively, in India. This makes it the most sold car in the country ahead of the Maruti 800.

The Alto's rivals include the Hyundai Eon and Renault Kwid. Neither of these cars offers a driver airbag across all variants.

In November 2015, Maruti started offering dual airbags and ABS as an option on all variants of the Celerio, Wagon R, Stingray, Swift and Dzire. The Ciaz got an optional safety pack in September 2015 and all variants of the Baleno and S-Cross come with dual airbags and ABS as a part of standard equipment.

Prices (ex-showroom, Delhi):

Alto 800

• STD - Rs. 2,62,313
• LX (O) - Rs. 2,98,844
• LXi (O) - Rs. 3,21,365
• LXi CNG (O) - Rs. 3,78,420

Alto K10

• LXi (O) - Rs. 3,45,844
• VXi AGS (O) - Rs. 4,11,609
• LXi CNG (O) - Rs. 4,08,162

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

Maruti Suzuki has launched a limited edition version of the Alto K10 hatchback in India. Dubbed the Alto K10 Urbano, it comes with cosmetic changes and additional features. It will be available on the LX, LXi, VXi and VXi (O) trim levels, including CNG.

The exteriors of the car get chrome inserts at various places including the fog lamp housings, ORVMs, wheel arches, tail lights and hatch. Additionally, there are decals on the sides of the car.

On the inside, the Urbano is equipped with art leather seat covers, a matching steering wheel cover, floor mats and stylish pedals, ambient light and LED door sills.

The Urbano is equipped with features such as reverse parking sensors, hands free Bluetooth kit, USB car charger with voltage and temperature display.

The Alto K10 Urbano Limited Edition also comes with a 90% funding on MGA package.

The Urbano edition is priced Rs. 16,990/- higher than the regular Alto K10.

Maruti Suzuki has announced that sales of its vehicles equipped with Auto Gear Shift (automated manual transmission or AMT) have crossed 50,000 units.

The Maruti Suzuki Celerio hatchback, which was launched in February 2014, was the first car in India to get AMT technology. The company then used the technology in the Alto K10 hatchback. Maruti claims that today, vehicles equipped with AMT account for 25% of the sales of the Celerio and Alto K10 put together.

The Celerio and Alto K10 are powered by a 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine that puts out 67 BHP and 90 Nm of torque. AMT-equipped vehicles are popular in markets like Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi.

The technology is said to offer the convenience of an automatic transmission with the fuel efficiency of a manual transmission. It is not as expensive as a conventional automatic gearbox. The system does not need a clutch to be depressed, which reduces the effort required to drive the vehicle, thus making the car relatively stress-free to drive in traffic.

Maruti Suzuki has set itself a goal of selling 2 million cars annually by 2020.

Maruti Suzuki is India’s largest car maker and continues to enjoy a larger market share than its rivals. However, in light of recent events, the company has drawn flak for offering cheaper cars, while compromising on passenger safety. Extensive safety features have largely been restricted to higher variants of car models, but a recent report suggests that Maruti could soon offer more safety tech on its entry level cars as well.

According to the report by Autocar Professional, apart from airbags, the brand could offer features such as an anti-lock braking system (ABS) and electronic brake-force distribution (EBD). The report comes in after Kenichi Ayukawa, MD & CEO - Maruti Suzuki, stated that the company is working towards offering the features across the model range. Currently, the Alto consistently features as the top selling car in the country, but neither the Alto 800, nor the K10 offer ABS or EBD, while a driver airbag is offered as an optional extra.

If Maruti does add ABS and EBD at least as an option to the lower models in its range, it will be a welcome move for buyers. A driver airbag certainly adds to safety, but some would argue that given the questionable structural integrity of these cars, ABS and EBD would play an equally, if not more important role in passenger safety.

Maruti Suzuki has issued a recall notice for the country's largest selling car - Alto over a faulty 'right hand door latch assembly'. 33,098 units of the Alto (19,780 units of the Alto 800 and 13,318 units of the Alto K10) will be recalled, which include cars manufactured between December 8, 2014 and February 18, 2015.

The problem area is said to be on the right hand side door (front and rear) which might be only partially latched, with a risk of opening if pressure is applied from inside.

Maruti dealers will contact the owners of all affected vehicles directly. Customers can take their Alto to the dealer workshops, which will inspect and replace (if necessary) the parts at no charge.

Alternatively, Alto owners who purchased their cars on or after December 8, 2014 can also visit Maruti's website and enter the 14 digit vehicle chassis number, to check if the vehicle is among the affected vehicles. The customer may then contact the workshop if the vehicle appears in the above mentioned vehicle list.

Maruti Suzuki has launched the new Alto K10 hatchback in India at prices starting from Rs. 3.06 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

The new Alto K10 is based on the Alto 800 that was launched in 2012. However, it can but can be distinguished from the 800 by its different headlamps, grille and revised tail lamps and bumpers. The new Alto K10 is 15 mm taller and 15 mm wider than the outgoing model.

The interiors of the Alto K10 have a two-tone theme with a modern-looking, redesigned dashboard, a new instrument cluster and a new three-spoke steering wheel with silver inserts, silver garnished door trim, AC louvres and gear shift bezel and audio system with piano black finish.

The range-topping VXi (O) variant comes with features such as driver airbag, body coloured door handles and wing mirrors, fog lamps, keyless entry audio system with CD and USB compatibility and central locking. Other features include gear shift indicator, key off reminder, headlamp warning buzzer, a digital clock and front power windows.

The new Alto K10 is powered by a 998 cc, 3-cylinder petrol engine which develops 68 PS @ 6000 rpm and 90 Nm of torque @ 3500 rpm and is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. An automated manual transmission which Maruti calls Auto Gear Shift is also available and so is a CNG-powered variant.

The new Alto K10 is available in six colours - Tango Orange, Granite Grey, Cerulean Blue, Fire Brick Red, Silky Silver and Superior White.

Prices (ex-showroom, Delhi):

• Alto K10 LX - Rs. 3,06,000
• Alto K10 LXi - Rs. 3,21,687
• Alto K10 VXi - Rs. 3,37,750
• Alto K10 VXi (Auto Gear Shift) - Rs. 3,80,187
• Alto K10 VXi (O) - Rs. 3,56,687
• Alto K10 LXi (CNG) - Rs. 381,687

Maruti Suzuki will launch the new Alto K10 hatchback in India on November 3, 2014.

The new Alto K10 looks similar to the Alto 800 that was launched in 2012. However, it can but can be distinguished from the 800 by its different headlamps, grille and revised tail lamps and bumpers. The interiors of the Alto K10 are also fresh and modern-looking with a redesigned dashboard with a new instrument cluster and a new steering wheel. The top of the line VXi(O) variant will be equipped with features such as driver airbag, fog lamps, keyless entry audio system with CD and USB compatibility and central locking.

The new Alto K10 will use the same engine that does duty in the current model - a 998 cc, 3-cylinder unit which develops 68 PS and 90 Nm of torque, mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. The automated manual transmission (AMT), which has been seen in the Celerio will also be available on the car. When it goes on sale, the Alto K10 AMT is expected to be the cheapest automatic car in the Indian market.