It looks like the highest-selling Maruti car between 2000 and 2017 has been facing a lack of demand in this modern SUV-loving era
In an interesting case study, it is observed that the iconic Maruti Alto has been experiencing a constant decline in monthly sales for a while now. There could be multiple reasons for it which we will get to in a minute. However, first, we must look at the stats. Alto has been the king of the entry-level segment in India for over 2 decades. It, along with the Maruti 800 was immensely popular, especially among first-time car buyers in India. However, due to the stricter-becoming emission norms and the increase in people’s purchasing power, customers shifted to compact SUVs and other larger cars. A car like the Alto suffered the brunt of this new-age trend. That pushed it out of the top 10 highest-selling Maruti cars in the country recently.
Maruti Alto Sales on Constant Decline
Up until 2022, the Maruti Alto was among the top 10 highest-selling cars in the country. Note that this takes into consideration vehicles from every carmaker. By October 2024, the Alto features at the 10th spot in Maruti’s best-selling cars. Overall, the Alto was at the 20th spot on the list of the top 25 highest-selling cars in India in October. That represents a clear downward trajectory for the Indo-Japanese car marque. To be specific, Maruti sold 8,548 units of the Alto in October 2024, which marks a substantial 24% decline in comparison to the same month last year when it sold a decent 11,200 units. Note that even that number is much lower than what it used to be until 2022.
Just for reference, Alto’s sales before that era (2022) were close to 18,000 units each month. Clearly, the demand is dwindling significantly. Digging a bit deeper, in the first half of 2024, Maruti sold just 57,943 units of the Alto. For the first half of 2023, this number was 80,903. This is a whopping 28% decline in sales. This is, again, an unequivocal indicator of the decreasing sales over a long period of time consistently. Hence, it is not just a short phase which Maruti could hope to recover from.
Reasons for Low Sales
Now that we have established the decreasing sales numbers, it is important to understand the reasons behind this. I must mention that when a giant car (in terms of popularity) goes out of fashion suddenly, there are multiple factors contributing to that. That is true with the Maruti Alto as well. Therefore, we must delve deep into the market scenarios and the latest car purchasing trends which drive the industry. Some of the main reasons for Alto’s downfall are:
Pricing
Due to the tight emission norms, carmakers have been investing heavily to update their engines to meet the latest requirements. That premium is passed on to the buyers in the form of price hikes. While this is an industry-wide phenomenon, it affects the most affordable cars the worst. One wouldn’t mind a premium on a car worth over Rs 10 lakh. However, for a car which has a starting price of around Rs 4 lakh, even an incremental increase in the price can spell disaster. To put things into perspective, the top model of the Maruti Alto bears a price tag of Rs 5.96 lakh, ex-showroom. The starting price of the Swift is Rs 6.49 lakh, that of the Nissan Magnite is Rs 5.99 lakh and that of the Tata Punch and Hyundai Exter is Rs 6.13 lakh. All these vehicles are much bigger, more practical, more powerful, more feature-rich and much safer than the Alto. Hence, people are opting for these instead.
Safety
We have seen carmakers like Hyundai which offer 6 airbags as standard across the model range of every car it sells in India. With this, it has set a benchmark for safety in our market regardless of which trim or car you opt for. Additionally, car companies like Tata Motors offers top-notch safety in its cars irrespective of the price range as well. However, Maruti has only recently started focusing on this aspect. Hence, when it comes to choosing between similarly-priced vehicles, the Alto always lagged behind. Modern consumers have become safety-conscious. Therefore, they drop the idea of buying the Alto and opt for its rival instead, even if they get charged a slight premium.
Purchasing Power and SUV Trend
Finally, the Indian economy is growing rapidly which results in an increase in purchasing power of the citizens. Add to this the trend of flashy and large SUVs which people love to show off. As a consequence, potential car buyers already have this dream in mind of owning a relatively affordable SUV. Carmakers have helped matters by offering compact and micro SUVs in the last few years. These are not a burden on the pocket and serve the idea of having a butch vehicle with an imposing road presence. Tata Punch and Hyundai Exter are prime examples of that. Hence, by paying a slight premium, the customers tend to go for these cars. All these factors combined, even the future for the Maruti Alto seems bleak and I won’t be surprised to see it go out of the top 25 highest-selling cars in India in the coming months.
Also Read: This is India’s First Maruti Alto with a Push Button Start – Why It’s a Bad Idea
