In yet another feather in the cap of Maruti Suzuki, Alto recently became the only car in India to clock 40 lakh units in sales in what is yet another highlight of its immense popularity.

A common sight on Indian roads, Alto has ruled sales charts for two decades and has managed to emerge and remain as a firm favourite owing to factors ranging from the car being affordable and convenient to drive to upgrades to looks, safety and features, and the solid after-sales support of Maruti Suzuki. The car also enjoys a reasonably good re-sale value due to these factors and this further underlines its case. As such, Maruti Suzuki highlights that the Alto has maintained its position at the top of the passenger vehicles’ segment in the country for 16 consecutive years. “Alto has been ranked as the No.1 selling car in India for 16th year in a row and we are immensely proud to announce another remarkable milestone of 40 lakh cumulative sales,” said Shashank Srivastava, Executive Director – Marketing and Sales, at Maruti Suzuki. “This has become a sales record never achieved by any other Indian car.”

Srivastava also chose to highlight the emotional attachment that buyers have with the Alto, adding that this is what helps the car as well. “Over the years, brand Alto has established a strong emotional connect with our customers. We would like to dedicate this achievement to all our proud and happy Alto family members,” he said.

Alto became India’s best-selling car for the first time in 2004 – four years after being launched, and has never given up the crown since. By 2008, 10 lakh units of the vehicle had been sold and the number doubled to 20 lakh by 2012. In another four years, another 10 lakh units had been sold. In November of 2019, Alto had become the only car in India to breach the 38 lakh unit mark.

There have been some strong rivals to the Alto in the past. Renault Kwid is one such example and has managed to excite small car buyers too. However, it has been unable to dislodge Alto from its top place.

Timely upgrades have helped Alto maintain momentum as the Indian market has witnessed people – even in the compact car – segment now looking at comfort and safety features as much as considering affordability and running cost.