Maruti Baleno set to drive past 75,000 sales mark in India

In the eight months since its launch in October 2015, Maruti Suzuki’s premium Baleno hatchback has sold a little over 65,000 units. Having sold over 10,000 units in May 2016 and around 9,500 units in April, it is now set to cross the 75,000 unit sales mark in June 2016. 

Demand for the petrol variant is considerably higher compared to the diesel Baleno, with the former contributing close to 70% of the car’s total sales. Put this down to the uncertainty about diesel fuel in the country, and more so in the large passenger car market of Delhi-NCR.

Till end-May 2016, Maruti Suzuki has sold 64,263 Balenos, which means an average of over 260 units every day across the country. Given its pent-up demand, expect the stylish hatchback to continue breezing past the 10,000 units mark each month.

Consistent in the monthly Top 10

Soon after its launch in October, the Baleno stormed into the India’s Top 10 best-selling passenger vehicles in November 2015 with sales of 9,074 units. Taking a cue from its earlier S-Cross pricing debacle, Maruti decided to offer a Rs 5 lakh starting price for the Baleno, which made customers flock to the carmaker’s premium Nexa dealerships.

The car continued its fine run in December 2016, edging ahead of its rival and segment leader – Hyundai i20 – to occupy the sixth spot in the month’s rankings. It was also the first time the car reached the five-digit sales mark with 10,572 units sold.

January 2016 wasn’t a good month for Indian automakers as car sales fell for the first time in 14 months. Baleno sales also succumbed to the industry sentiment with 7,698 units sold and thus losing its premium hatchback top spot to the Hyundai i20. Sales further went down in February as Maruti sold 6,888 Balenos in the month. However, on the brighter side, the Baleno became the most exported car for Maruti in the month with shipments of nearly 3,400 units.

Since the start of FY2017, the Baleno has been breathing down the neck of its rival i20, lagging behind by sales of just a few hundred units. Moreover, it had already received over 100,000 bookings in March stretching the waiting period to around six months. With strong demand for the car in both the domestic and international markets, Maruti is ramping up production of the car in order to reduce the current waiting period.

Furthermore, with the all-new Gujarat plant slated to go on stream by January-February 2017, additional manufacturing capacity will be freed up for the Baleno at the Manesar plant from where it rolls out. Then, with Maruti Suzuki aggressively expanding its Nexa network to a targeted 250 showrooms by 2017, expect plenty more customer footfalls and Baleno buyers.

Overall, the Baleno has been a true-blue winner for Maruti Suzuki, with the Vitara Brezza also heading in the same direction. Higher mileage, new safety features and various engine options have caught the pulse of the consumer and are in sync with the changing preferences of the market for styling and quality at an affordable cost.

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