Maruti Suzuki Alto set to be dethroned from India’s top 10 selling cars list of FY24; here's why

In FY24, Maruti Suzuki Alto may finish in the list of top 10 cars sold in India. With wholesales of 102,622 units from April to February, Alto is now ranked fifteenth. Tenth place goes to the Mahindra Scorpio, which has a volume of 126,311 units.

Over the years, the Alto has been among the best-selling cars in India. However, in 2023, Alto’s sales dropped 21.77%—from 162,548 units to 127,169 units (35,379 less Alto cars sold in 2023), and ranked 12th.

In fact, according to industry body Siam, sales of entry-level hatchbacks (Maruti Suzuki Alto and S-Presso, and Renault Kwid) dropped a massive 42.6% during April-January FY24 (from 215,911 units to 123,895 units), even as the passenger vehicle market grew 8% (from 3,169,852 units to 3,422,686 units).

According to analysts, entry-level SUVs—whose sales grew from 758,762 units in FY22 to 1,002,864 in FY23— have eaten into sales of entry-level hatchbacks like the Alto.

Despite the falling sales of the Alto, Maruti has no plans to phase it out. Analysts said that even though sales are dropping, small cars such as the Alto serve a very important function— keeping rural India on the move.

Top 10 Cars of the Year:

Maruti Suzuki Swift (203,469 units)

Wagon R (201,301)

Baleno (193,989)

Brezza (170,588)

Tata Nexon (170,311)

Maruti Suzuki Dzire (157,522)

Hyundai Creta (157,311)

Tata Punch (150,182)

Maruti Suzuki Eeco (136,010)

Ertiga (129,968)