Our previous post on India's best-selling car brands in 2019 showed that a damp market did nothing to change the fact one in every two cars sold in the country is a Maruti-Suzuki. It's quite natural then the Japanese brand and it's models are going to dominate the list of best-selling cars in India.
But the Top 20 list isn't just a Maruti-Suzuki show. Hyundai and a handful of models from other brands also had their say. Here is how the cars that shaped the Indian automotive landscape last year stack up.
Highlights
- The top six best-selling cars are from Maruti-Suzuki
- Seven of the top ten and nine of the top twenty best-selling cars are from - you said it - Maruti-Suzuki
- Hyundai is the only brand other than Maruti-Suzuki to have it's cars in the Top 10
- The best-selling car that's not a Maruti-Suzuki or Hyundai is the Mahindra Bolero (#14)
- Fourteen of the top twenty best-selling cars are either a Maruti-Suzuki or Hyundai
- Tata is the only brand apart from the two leaders to have more than one model in the Top 20
- Mahindra, Honda, Toyota and Renault have one model each in the Top 20
Alto is back as India's best-selling car
Despite being at the end of its life cycle and seeing a substantial 19% drop in sales, Alto's bullet-proof reliability and affordable price tag together with aggressive financing options were just what customers wanted in a weakening economy. The net result was this diminutive hatchback ending 2019 as India's best-selling car. With an all-new Alto sporting a high-riding Kwid-like design reportedly in the works, things are looking very good for the Alto.
Dzire, Swift and Baleno hold their ground
In the Dzire, Swift and Wagon-R, Maruti-Suzuki has three very strong brands that are selling by themselves. All the car-maker has to do is to produce and have the cars sent to dealerships ready for delivery when customers walk in. Joining this trio are Baleno and Vitara Brezza. The latter's sales run, despite the advent of competent newer compact SUVs like the Venue and XUV3OO, is mind-boggling. It just goes to show how strong the 'S' badge is in India. With the venerable Omni off the production lines, customers looking for a cheap people-mover had no choice other than the Eeco, which explains its 35% jump over 2018.
Venue rescues Hyundai
From the looks of it, Hyundai's perennial best-sellers - i20, Grand i10 and Creta - continued their good run in 2019 and made it to the Top 10. But, keen observers would have noted the trio starting to lose their sheen with 13%, 24% and 18% drops respectively and the Venue coming to Hyundai's rescue adding over 70,000 units to the Korean car-maker's tally since its launch middle of last year. Santro had a decent run but couldn't match up to Maruti-Suzuki's older Celerio, let alone the big-selling all-new Wagon-R. The Koreans won't be pleased!
Ertiga shines, Bolero continues to surprise
Maruti-Suzuki Ertiga, at number eleven, had a stellar 2019 with an incredible 65% increase in sales over 2018. The first-generation model was a success itself but, with the launch of the all-new Ertiga towards the end of 2018, India's largest car-maker hit the ball out of the park. The new Ertiga does almost everything an Innova Crysta does at half the price. If that isn't value, what is? No wonder then the new Ertiga is a smash hit.
Tea table discussions on India's auto industry often see people wondering why Mahindra is still bothering with the age-old Bolero. One look at the list is all that's needed to silence them. Bolero's tough build and strong brand pull in semi-urban and rural markets have helped Mahindra for years and 2019 was no different. But the Indian car-maker has lots to ponder over. None of it's newer models - including the impressive Marazzo and XUV3OO - are anywhere close to making it to the list.
Tata had a dismal year overall and that reflected in Tiago's sales that dropped a massive 32% year-over-year. Nexon held its own though amidst a flurry of compact SUVs storming the market! Honda's Amaze, Toyota's Innova Crysta and Renault's Kwid are the other cars to make it to the Top 20.
2020 is going to be an interesting year with the upcoming Bharat Stage-6 emission norms and the resulting change in price tags and engine options promising to shake things up quite a bit.
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