Maruti Suzuki Developing The Next-Gen Alto — Call It The ‘Kwid’ Effect

The Maruti Suzuki Alto is the undisputed king in the best-selling cars in India and sells around 18,000 to 19,000 units. Renault, on the other hand, sells close to 10,000 units of the Kwid which is lesser than the Alto.

However, the rate at which Renault is selling the Kwid is much higher than of Alto. The Kwid is preferred because of its features which are superior compared to the Alto.

Customers who buy the Maruti Alto are mainly driven by the large network of sales and service, and the strong brand of Maruti in the country. Maruti does acknowledge that the Alto needs an overhaul and is developing the next-generation of the Alto.

The crossover syllable with the Indian customer has caught on and the Kwid is a good example of the choice by the customers. Maruti will be looking to the Alto to answer the question of a crossover in the small hatchback segment.

In Japan, Suzuki sells Alto in a different avatar with a 660cc engine and Maruti might borrow a whole lot of specs for the model in Japan. This could be tweaked to the Indian sentiments of an SUV and the crossover image.