Bolero zooms into top five list

Even as passenger car sales hit a decade-low mark in the last financial year, Maruti Suzuki managed to retain volumes with four of its best selling models claiming spots among the top five passenger vehicles sold in the country.

Though sales of small car Alto declined by 13.5 per cent to 266,785 units, the car continued to be on top.

Interestingly, despite sales falling at the entry-level by 13 per cent last fiscal, demand notched up for mid-range premium models such as Swift and DZire.

While sales of Swift went up by over 20 per cent, sedan DZire grew volumes by 54 per cent and edged out the WagonR to become the third best-selling car in the country.

Highlighting the increasing preference of Indian customers for diesel-powered utility vehicles, Mahindra & Mahindra Bolero zoomed its way into the top five list. This is the first time in the last five years that an utility vehicle has featured in the top five list in a country which is known for its love for small cars. The sales numbers recorded By Hyundai i10 in FY13 further reinforces the increasing preference for premium mid-range cars in the Indian market. With sales sliding by 25 per cent to 92,897 units during the fiscal, i10 slipped to the sixth position from the third slot it had held a year earlier.

Ertiga, which debuted in April last year gave strong competition to Toyota Innova. Maruti Suzuki sold 76,375 units as compared to 77,062 units of Toyota Innova. Ertiga displaced Mahindra Scorpio to claim the third spot in the top selling utility vehicles in India.

Sales of UVs had grown by a whopping 52 per cent last fiscal as compared to the tepid growth of 2.15 per cent recorded in the PV market in the same period. Utility vehicles contribute as much as 21 per cent to overall passenger vehicles sold in the country highlighting the need of all car makers to have a strong footprint in the category.