If the May 2016 records of Maruti Suzuki India are anything to go by, the Vitara Brezza compact SUV and the Baleno premium hatchback are leading the sales pitch for the carmaker, acting as a buffer to the slowing sales of the Alto, WagonR and Swift hatchbacks.
The Vitara Brezza, Maruti's first compact SUV, hit showrooms in March, and is understood to have clocked sales of around 7,200 units in May 2016. The Baleno – launched in October 2015 and crossed the 1 lakh booking threshold in March 2016 – touched the 10,000 unit mark in May.
As per industry sales data from SIAM, in April, the Vitara Brezza had sold 7,832 units while the Baleno sold 9,562 units. In May, the carmaker’s UV segment grew 144.2 percent to 13,596 units as compared to 5,567 units in May 2015 mainly due to the surging demand for the compact SUV. The company’s UV portfolio also includes the Gypsy, Ertiga and S-cross.
Maruti’s compact hatchback segment in which the Baleno is positioned grew 9.6 percent last month with sales of 46,554 units during the month against 41,926 units sold in May 2015. In comparison, the mini or entry-level category of Maruti (Alto and WagonR) has been on a decline, dipping 5.6 percent to 33,105 units from the 35,062 units sold in May 2015. Sales of the Swift too seems to be slowing down, with the competition growing sizeably. These models were earlier frontrunners for Maruti, grossing sales of around 20,000 units a month in better times.
Now with the Baleno and the Vitara Brezza offering higher mileage, new safety features and various engine options, Maruti has caught the pulse of the consumer and are in sync with the market's changing preferences for styling and quality at an affordable cost. Both these models have set the cash registers ringing for Maruti with customers flocking showrooms for bookings. The carmaker has been taken by surprise as it had not provisioned for such high- production capacities for both the models. This has resulted in the waiting periods for both models averaging 7 months, with buyers of the Vitara Brezza's top-end variant having to wait for as long as 9 months for delivery.
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