Sales of Dzire grew by 18%, Alto fell 0.5%

NEW DELHI: India's love for its smallest cars seems to be waning. In 2018, Alto, which was the number 1 car for 14 straight years, lost its crown to Dzire, Maruti's compact sedan. Not only was it beaten by the bigger car, it sold around a thousand fewer units over the year. In rival Hyundai's stable, too, sales of Grand i10 fell by about 13%, while its bigger siblings, i20 and Creta, saw robust sales growth of about 10% and 15%, respectively.Although Dzire and its hatchback version, Swift, have outsold Alto for a few months in past years, this is the first time that a sedan has been India's biggest-selling car for a whole year. With disposable incomes and aspirations rising, is this a sign of the times?"The Indian car buyer is upgrading, and he wants the best for what he can afford," said industry analyst Jnaneswar Sen, who has earlier worked with Honda Cars India and Maruti. The trend also shows first-time buyers are not increasing as quickly as those who are upgrading, or buying another car, he added. "So, the upper segment is growing, but the entry car market is shrinking."Social scientist and advertising professional Santosh Desai said the trend is here to stay. "This shift has been in the making for a while... Incomes are rising, and you have gone through the cycles of the first car," Desai said, adding, "The Indian customer has begun to value comfort and some higher-order needs, and is willing to pay for them."Industry officials said buyers now value safety and comfort as much as design. "Features like airbags and ABS are turning out to be very important as buyers get more safety-conscious," a top official with a leading carmaker said.Dzire, a sub-4-metre sedan launched in 2008, has been one of the strongest models for Maruti from the very beginning. It is priced Rs 5.7 lakh onwards, as against Alto’s Rs 2.6-lakh starting price. While Dzire’s sales grew by 18% in a year when overall passenger vehicle sales grew by 5%, demand for Alto — the so-called “people’s car” — fell by 0.5%, numbers accessed by TOI show.Desai said people desire a car with a boot not only as a status symbol but also as a practical need. “We carry enormous amounts of luggage when travel, thus option of adding a boot is legitimate. It is a significant factor.” Easy access to finance may also explain the robust demand for bigger vehicles, experts said. Dzire’s more expensive stablemate Brezza took fifth position, ahead of WagonR. It had finished seventh in 2017. Hyundai Creta, which retails upwards of Rs 9.5 lakh, was the ninth-largest selling model.