As many as three hatchbacks in the top five posted YoY sales growth in December 2019; Baleno led Alto, Swift and Wagon R
The final month of the year saw Maruti Suzuki Baleno topping the hatchback sales charts with a total of 18,465 units against 11,135 units during the same month last year. This resulted in a massive 65 per cent growth in volumes for the Heartect platform based hatchback and it was the best months for it the whole year.
Coming in at second was the entry-level Alto as the small hatch posted 15,489 units in December 2019 as against 25,121 units during the corresponding month the previous year. The Alto had to endure a substantial de-growth of 38 per cent last month. The Swift often positioned in the top two in terms of monthly sales numbers in 2019.
However, it dropped to the third position in December 2019 despite registering good Year-on-Year sales increase. The Swift recorded a total of 14,749 units last month as against 11,790 units during the same month in 2018 with a 25 per cent surge. The Wagon R had a tremendous CY2019 as it was consistent throughout.
| Model (+/-%) | December 2019 Sales | December 2018 Sales |
| 1. Maruti Suzuki Baleno (65%) | 18,465 | 11,135 |
| 2. Maruti Suzuki Alto (-38%) | 15,489 | 25,121 |
| 3. Maruti Suzuki Swift (25%) | 14,749 | 11,790 |
| 4. Maruti Suzuki Wagon-R (324%) | 10,781 | 2,540 |
| 5. Maruti Suzuki S-Presso | 8,394 | New Launch |
| 6. Hyundai i20 (-35%) | 7,720 | 11,940 |
| 7. Renault Kwid (-5%) | 5,539 | 5,832 |
| 8. Hyundai Grand i10 Nios | 5,454 | New Launch |
| 9. Maruti Suzuki Celerio (-40%) | 5,429 | 9,000 |
| 10. Tata Tiago (-19%) | 4,558 | 5,628 |
This was mainly due to the arrival of the third-generation model in January 2018 as the complete overhaul did help its cause in sweeping volumes as its predecessor. It met with a huge 324 per cent sales increase last month as 10,781 units were sold against 2,540 units during the same month in 2018.
The recently launched S-Presso encountered 8,394 domestic units in December 2019 as it finished fifth ahead of Hyundai’s Elite i20. The latter suffered 35 per cent sales decline as 7,720 units were dispatched against 11,940 units during the same month in 2018. Renault updated the Kwid only a few months ago and it has been doing decent numbers since then.
It posted 5 per cent negative growth with 5,539 units and finished ahead of Hyundai’s third-generation Grand i10 Nios. The Celerio ended up ninth with 40 per cent de-growth at 5,429 units while Tata’s Tiago, due a facelift soon, rounded out the table with 4,558 units that resulted in 19 per cent sales drop.