Maruti Suzuki Baleno gets past four lakh sales in record time and is a top-selling premium model for the largest automaker
Maruti Suzuki announced its arrival at the premium hatchback segment with the launch of Baleno. Introduced in late October 2015, it has been a segment best-seller and more significantly paved the way for the company’s aggressive premium strategy. Even when new vehicles came in, the Baleno has registered consistent sales through the years.
It is the first true success from Nexa premium outlets and over the course of more than two and half years the popularity of Baleno has only been on a high note. The Baleno has been able to post well over 20,000 units in April 2018, underlining its ever growing craze among customers despite the introduction of newly launched Swift.
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It has set new record for a premium hatchback by achieving four lakh unit sales in less than three years and is the fastest to do so. Apart from the domestic sales, Baleno is also exported largely to international marketplaces like Japan, Australia, New Zealand and countries in Europe and Latin America. The locally manufactured Baleno is also the first car to be shipped to Suzuki’s home land of Japan.
As for the engine lineup, the 1.2-litre, four-cylinder, K-Series VVT petrol engine kicks out a maximum power output of 83 bhp at 6,000 rpm and 115 Nm of peak torque at 4,000 rpm. Transferring power to the front wheels is through a five-speed manual transmission or a CVT automatic.
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The diesel engine is the reliable 1.3-litre, four-cylinder, turbo, Multijet DDiS 200 mill developing 75 bhp at 4,000 rpm and 190 Nm of peak torque at 2,000 rpm. No automatic gearbox is sold yet as a standard five-speed manual does the assigned duty. Retailed in Sigma, Delta, Alpha and Zeta variants, the Baleno is priced from Rs. 5.47 lakh to Rs. 8.64 lakh (ex-showroom) for the range-topping variant.