The Maruti Suzuki Alto has been selling like hot tea on a cold winter morning for the last nine years in India. No surprise then, it has also emerged as the largest-selling small car in the world for the year 2014. The Alto registered overall sales of 264,544 units in India last year that put it ahead of VW Golf’s sales of 255,044 units in Germany, Daihatsu Tanto’s 234,456 units, Toyota Aqua’s 233,209 units and Honda Fit’s 202,838 units in Japan.
The Alto has been on top of this list in three of the last four years but overall sales have been on a decline every year for the last four years. In 2014, it was well below its highest ever sales number of over 300,000 units in 2011. The Alto’s 800 cc model hasn’t sold as expected since launch, however, the K10 and the AMT variant should help the car make a stron comeback in 2015.
Surprisingly, this year’s list does not have any entry from Brazil, the world’s largest small car market, as its best selling car for 25 years — Volkswagen Gol — suffered a near 30% fall in sales and was upstaged by long-time rival Fiat Palio in South America’s biggest car market.
Source: HT