Maruti Suzuki has discontinued one of its most popular entry-level hatchbacks Alto K10 in India. Many popular vehicles fell prey to the transition from BS4 to more stringent BS6 emission norms. The fate of Alto K10 was already uncertain but now they have made it official by removing the K10 from their official website. It brought mass-volume sales to the brand and was amongst the most popular cars in the Indian market. It didn’t receive the BS6 upgrade and it is reported that Maruti Suzuki already cleared the BS4 stock in December.
Also read: Maruti May Not Open Manesar Facility Despite Getting The Nod
It is a rather surprising decision because Maruti already updated the 1.0-liter petrol engine which did duty in Alto K10. Maruti deployed the same updated engine in the S-Presso, which went on sale in India in late-2019. Despite making it BS6 compliant, Maruti refrained from introducing it on the Alto hatchback. When the Alto K10 was first introduced in our markets, it was offered as a powerful version of their regular Alto hatchback. The BS4-iteration of the 1.0-liter engine powering the Maruti Alto K10 produces 67bhp and 90Nm of torque. It came mated with 5-Speed manual transmission during the early years but later, Maruti also introduced an Automatic transmission making it one of the most affordable automatic cars available in our markets at that time.
It was offered in many trims, namely LXi, VXi, VXi (O), VXi AMT and LXi CNG trims. Prices for the variants ranged between Rs 3.60 lakh for the base trim and Rs 4.39 lakh for the top-spec model (ex-showroom, Delhi). The Alto K10 might be discontinued but Maruti still sells the regular Alto which is powered by 796cc petrol engine which produces 47bhp at 6000rpm and 69Nm of torque at 3000rpm and comes mated to a five-speed manual transmission. They have already updated this tiny little engine to comply with BS6 standards. Prices of the Alto start from Rs 2.94 lakh and goes up to Rs 4.36 lakh.
There is no word from Maruti Suzuki regarding the revival of Alto K10, whether they will introduce the updated 1.0-liter petrol engine or not. It is safe to assume that the Alto K10 is now permanently discontinued.