Maruti Alto 800 registers 50,000 bookings in India

The new Maruti Alto 800 is proving to be a riot in terms of sales.

The Alto is almost the unanimous choice of first time car buyers and the car population is set to grow exponentially over the next decade. The Alto has been a cash cow to Maruti ever since the car entered India in the form of fifth generation model in September 2000.

The Alto brand has been continuing its dominating run in Indian market for more than a decade in spite of its aging mechanicals. The new Alto 800 is basically the old wine in new bottle, the car's engine and suspension have received some minor tweaks apart from the new body and redone interior.

Maruti claims that the new Alto 800's ARAI certified fuel economy of 22.7 kmpl is 15% more efficient than the model it replaced. The hatchback also gets driver side airbag as an option to improve safety. On the other hand, ABS and passenger side external mirror are absent even on the top-end variant.

Since bookings started in late September, the new Maruti Alto 800 has garnered an astonishing 50,000+ orders. In comparison, Hyundai Eon, the main competitor of Alto with its 'Fluidic' styling and better interior managed an annual sales figure of 97,236 units in the period between Oct'11 and Oct'12.

Mayank Pareek, chief operating officer for marketing and sales at MSIL said that the company has already delivered 32,000 Alto 800s. In October, Maruti sold a total of 103,108 vehicles, which is a jump of 86% compared to same period previous year.

The new Alto 800 is expected to continue its record run as the first time car buyers community is expanding at a promising pace. As of now, every eighth car sold in India is an Alto!

[Source: Online.wsj.com]