Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), the country's favourite car maker, is on cloud nine as its latest entry-level segment offering, Alto 800 wrapped up over 17,000 bookings in just four days, post its launch on the domestic turf. The car's launch was planned to coincide with the start of Indian festivities on October 16, 2012 and so far, the company's plan seems to be returning better yield than expected.
The other cars introduced at the onset of festivities failed to produce Maruti Suzuki like results, such as the facelifted new Ford Figo hatchback, Tata Manza Club Class sedan, SsangYong Rexton Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), Tata Safari Storme (SUV) and Honda Brio AT hatch. However, the craze for diesel powered vehicles continued in the domestic market as the segment leader Renault Duster has already chalked off bookings of over 20,000 units within three months of its launch in the Indian market. Interestingly, the bookings of compact SUV Renault Duster's direct competition - Mahindra Quanto stood at 6,200 units, which is an incredible result considering the car was launched just a month back on September 21, 2012.
Mayank Pareek, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Marketing and Sales, MSIL revealed that in comparison to last year, the company has witnessed a 32 per cent surge in showroom enquiries for the new Alto 800 during October 2012. Further, MSIL is upbeat with a 15 per cent climb in the demands for its product portfolio among the Indian car enthusiasts during the ongoing festivities.
With an incredible piece of information, Pareek said, "Around 200 Altos are being delivered today in one go by our dealer at Malappuram, Kerala, in a major event. Though it’s still early into the festival season, response in the first four days have been very good."
Reportedly, the entry-level Alto small car has been MSIL's top selling brand in the Indian market for last eight years, of which the company recorded peak sales around 24,000 units in a single month of the 2011-12 financial year. With the start of 2013 fiscal, demand for petrol cars saw a sharp drop in the country and accordingly, the monthly sales of Alto dropped to a mere 14,000 units by August 2012. The new car has been given a task of recuperating for the lost sales, besides setting a benchmark in terms of design and engineering of an entry-level small car dedicated towards the domestic buyers.
Prior to launch, the 2012 Alto 800 was anticipated to fill in the void left by the iconic 'Maruti 800' city car and the latest offering from MSIL seems to have just the perfect mix towards becoming the next mass puller in the country, just like its predecessors. Maruti Suzuki imbibes in the DNA of its new cars, to become immensely successful among domestic car enthusiasts and the secret ingredient appears to be laced in the Alto 800 with just the perfect proportions.
