Passenger vehicle sales for most automakers remained upbeat in April 2016, and most of them registered a double- digit growth. According to data released by automotive industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), sales of passenger vehicles stood at 2,42,060 units in April 2016, up 11.04 percent from 2,17,989 units in 2015 driven by strong demand for utility vehicles. Sales of utility vehicles grew 42.83 percent to 62,170 units in April.

Sales of Maruti’s venerable bestseller Alto declined 23 percent over last year to 16,583 units – its lowest level since May 2013 – possibly due to increasing competition from the Kwid. Renault’s popular hatchback continued to hold its place in the list notching up sales of 9,795 units at the seventh spot.

Going ahead, the Alto sales are likely to come under pressure from the soon-to-be launched Redigo. Interestingly, Maruti has introduced a mildly refreshed version of the Alto 800 to keep up the buyer’s interest.

Meanwhile, Maruti’s tally in the Top 10 expanded to seven vehicles from six in March with the Baleno entering the list. The Swift took the second spot with sales of 15,661 units followed by the WagonR (15,323 units). However, the Swift continued to witness a sharp fall in volumes with sales declining 15.1 percent over last year, while sales of the WagonR grew at 10 percent year on year.

The Dzire (13,256 units) lost ground and slipped to fourth position and sales declined significantly by nearly 28 percent over last year.

Korean carmaker Hyundai bagged two spots with the i20 and the Grand i10. The latter registered sales of 9,840 units, up nearly 12 percent from the previous year and the i20 edged ahead of key rival Baleno  raking up volumes of 11,147 units.

The Baleno (9,562 units), marked its entry into the Top 10 after two months and it continues to remain quite popular in the segment, the high waiting period notwithstanding. Interestingly, the standard export model of the made-in-India Suzuki Baleno received  three stars from automotive safety watchdog Euro NCAP in a crash test.