In an effort to boost sales of its small car range, Maruti will launch an upgraded 800cc Alto on October 16, 2012. The Alto, India’s best-selling compact car, has a 1000cc K-series variant as well, and both variants sell about 17,000 units a month.
While the car’s exteriors are largely the same, the interiors are of better quality and sport a new dashboard. Also on offer is a new steering and some tweaks to the engine. The 800cc replacement gives a mileage of 22.74kpl, based on ARAI tests, making it at least 15 percent more efficient than its earlier avatar.
The new Alto is expected to be priced between Rs 2.6 lakh and Rs 3.2 lakh. While the base variants will not have power windows or steering, the top-end will have optional airbags. Maruti will also offer the Alto 800 with a factory-fitted CNG kit.
Maruti has sold over 189,000 Altos in April-August 2012 with August sales barely over 10,000 units owing to the one-month lockout at the Manesar facility. On average, the company’s current sales are down from nearly 25,000 in the year-earlier 12-month period.
If Maruti is able to boost sales of the Alto with the 800cc replacement, it can claim to have offered three successful products over the last 12 months — the new Swift, the under-four-metre Dzire and the new Alto.