Sedan Replaces Maruti Alto As Best Selling Cars In India

The Indian automobile industry is finally seeing an shift towards more upmarket products. The best selling car is now a subcompact sedan instead of the entry-level Alto that held the crown for the last 15 years.

Maruti Suzuki Dzire has now crossed Alto’s numbers and holds the top slot with 128,695 units being sold in the April – November period of FY 2020.

The shift towards subcompact sedans is the aspiration to move towards “size with status”, auto analyst Avik Chattopadhyay told NDTV Auto. A boot adds “status” for most Indians according to him and other experts as well.

Not only did the “boot status” work for Maruti’s Dzire, it makes it immensely popular among commercial fleet buyers as well.

While the first generation Dzire’s boot looked like an afterthought, Maruti has ironed out a cohesive design in the new model and this has reflected in the sales numbers.

The segment as a whole is popular, just like urban compact SUVs. The new-generation Honda Amaze has sold 40,676 units in the same April – November period, and the Hyundai Xcent is at 12,239 units due to ageing and the upcoming replacement by Aura to be launched in the new year.

Tata, which “invented” the segment with the Indigo CS long back, is lagging with the Tata Tigor at just 6765 units in the same period.

The sub-four metre space became a norm when the government announced subsidies for the cars measuring under 4 metres, and having engines under 1.2-litre for petrol and 1.5-litre for diesel.