Maruti Suzuki Alto becomes India's top-selling car for the fifth time in a row

Indian largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki’s popular entry level hatchback Alto yet again emerged as the top-selling car in India for the fifth consecutive month in 2015. This is a commendable feat for Alto as the car has stayed glued to the best-selling car position for nearly a decade now. Last month in May 2015, Maruti sold 22,595 units of the car.

Maruti Suzuki bagged six positions in the top 10 best-selling cars list with the second and the third spot acquired by the Swift premium hatchback and compact sedan Swift Dzire followed by the Wagon-R at the fourth position. The Celerio hatchback took the 8th spot, with the Ciaz sedan at the 10th position.

Rival Hyundai Motor India occupied 5^th, 6^th and 9^th positions, with Elite i20, Grand i10 and Eon hatchbacks, respectively. Honda’s popular mid-segment Sedan City was placed at the seventh position.

The consecutive rise in the sale of Alto hatchback shows that buyers are getting more inclined towards the entry level cars, which are majorly popular for high fuel efficiency and low maintenance. And Maruti has reputedly proven its capability for being the best in offering both these features. Moreover Maruti also said that people in rural India still prefer an Alto as their first choice when they make a buying decision as opposed to urban buyer who tend to go for Swift of Grand i10.

In India Maruti Suzuki offers the Alto series in two different models – Alto 800 and Alto K10 both powered by a petrol engine. The Alto 800 is powered by a 796 cc, 3-cylinder engine that churns out 48 PS of peak power and 69 Nm of peak torque. The K10 on the other hand offers as namesake comes with a 998 cc K10 engine that produces  68 PS of power and 90 Nm of peak torque. As for fuel efficiency the Alto K10 offers a mileage of 24.7 kmpl, while the Alto 800 returns 22.4 kmpl.