Maruti Baleno breezes past 100,000 sales in India

Maruti Suzuki India’s premium hatchback, the Baleno has driven past the 100,000 unit sales landmark in the domestic market. Launched on October 26, the snazzy-looking car has taken less than a year to hit the 100,000 milestone.

The Baleno, which has been averaging sales of over 9,000 units for the past six months, sold a total of 99,624 units till September 2016, a month in which Maruti Suzuki sold a total of 137,321 units, a 29.4 percent year-on-year growth in the domestic market. On October 4, Maruti announced the crossing of the 100,000 unit sales mark, indicating that 376 more Balenos had been sold in the first few days of October. 

It can be recalled that Autocar Professional first reported about Baleno crossing the 80,000 sales mark in July.

Commenting on the sales landmark, Maruti Suzuki’s executive director (Marketing & Sales), R S Kalsi said: “The Baleno is one of the big success stories of the Indian auto industry. It carries our new design philosophy and is equipped with several high-end features and technologies like Apple CarPlay that have attracted young customers. Our engineers have ensured that the Baleno, which is built on an innovative new platform, offers superior ride and handling, besides best-in-class fuel efficiency. Safety features like dual airbags and ABS with EBD are standard in the Baleno, another first for this segment. It is truly a symbol of Make In India.”

The surging demand for the Baleno across the country has seen a considerable waiting period for the car. However, Maruti Suzuki says it is doing all it can  to improve production levels. According to Kalsi, “We have optimised our production so that we can deliver their cars in the committed timeframe while ensuring the highest levels of quality.”

Moreover, the Baleno is Nexa’s most successful model, and has proven to be a volume seller in the premium segment, since the S-cross met with a tepid response.

The popularity of the hatchback hasn’t dimmed despite nearly three subsequent price hikes – in January 2016 by upto Rs 12,000 followed by another one in March of upto Rs 16,699 and the latest hike in August was by Rs 10,000 (all prices, ex-showroom, Delhi).

Maruti is now gearing up to launch a sportier Baleno RS, powered by a 111hp, 1.0-litre, three-cylinder Boosterjet turbo-petrol, in a bid to expand the car’s appeal.

Big on exports too

The Baleno, which is exclusively manufactured at the Manesar plant, is also a high performer for Maruti on the export front. Till now, 33,800 Balenos have been exported across the world, including to Japan, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Latin America. It is the first car to be exported from India to Japan. Maruti Suzuki plans to export the car to 100 international markets.

The road ahead

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. 

Recommended: Maruti Vitara Brezza sales cross 50,000 units in 7 months