Maruti Suzuki India has finally decided to discontinue production of its entry-level hatchback, the Alto 800 and will only sell its remaining stock. The company's decision is in line with the decreasing demand for entry-level hatchbacks and decided against the capital expenditure of developing a new engine that complies with the BS6 Phase 2 norms which comes into effect from April 1.
The Maruti Alto was launched in September 2000 and has been one of the most popular vehicles on Indian roads. The Alto 800, powered by 796cc petrol with 48PS max power and 69Nm of torque was hailed as India’s best-selling car for over a decade in its days of glory. Maruti has sold nearly 35,00,000 units of the Alto 800 since its inception.
The Indian automotive market has seen a gradual decrease in the demand for the entry-level hatchback segment. Its market share has fallen from 15% of the total market in FY16 to less than 7% estimates in FY23. Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Office for Marketing and Sales said the affordability factor for the purchase of vehicles in this segment has come down and that is the reason why this segment has dropped in terms of overall volumes and also as a percentage of the overall market."
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