The Swift DZire has become India’s best-selling car, ending the Alto’s long stint at the top, a development that signals the preference of Indian consumers for a slightly larger car even at the entry level. The small compact sedan from the Maruti Suzuki stable outsold sibling Alto, a hatchback powered by an 800cc engine, by 854 units in May. The surge in sales of the DZire,which is much costlier than the Alto, is likely to boost the profitability and margin of Maruti Suzuki. The DZire costs Rs.5-7 lakh, depending on the model, while the Alto is around Rs.3 lakh. The DZire is part of the compact sedan category that has emerged as the fastest-growing passenger car segment with sales rising 21% in the last fiscal to 2.26 lakh units even as the car market as a whole shrunk 7%. Other models sold in this segment are the Honda Amaze, Mahindra Verito, Toyota Etios and Chevrolet Sail. The DZire was first launched in 2008 on the Swift hatchback platform and had registered average monthly sales of nearly 10,000 units each month. But the real spurt took place when Maruti launched the second generation of the DZire in February last year. Monthly sales rose to over 15,000 units every month that peaked to over 17,000 units in recent months.
A tweak in its design to bring the length to just below 4 metre from 4.2 metre in the previous model has kept the car in the 12% excise bracket, making it cheaper than many hatchbacks. Analysts tracking the auto industry said the DZire has continued to increase sales in recent months.
Maruti continues to enjoy strong customer confidence with over 27,000 pending bookings for the sedan, accounting for a few months of its production. This is the second time that the Alto has been dethroned from its top position. Earlier, it was the Swift that outsold the Alto in April 2012.
No comments:
Post a Comment