India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki said on Thursday that it has dispatched over 6.5 lakh units of premium hatchback Baleno in a span of four years.
Baleno was launched in October 2015 and competes with the likes of Hyundai Elite i20, Honda Jazz and Volkswagen Polo.
One of the best-selling cars in its class, Baleno also helped the company to tap young buyers and establish its premium retail chain Nexa.
“Baleno since inception has been a leader. Retailed from our premium channel Nexa, Baleno attracted new set of customers to Maruti Suzuki family,” said Shashank Srivastava, executive director, marketing and sales, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL).
“Customer’s expectations and desires along with periodic technological upgrades has kept Baleno ahead of the curve,” he said. Maruti Suzuki had introduced the Baleno facelift in January 2019 and later become the country’s first BSVI compliant premium hatchback.
Baleno had breached the five lakh sales milestone in India in 38 months. Till last year, Baleno commanded an average of about 18,000 to 19,000 units a month, without any update.
However, the auto sector prolongs slowdown and a shift in buyers’ preference towards compact SUVs has impacted Baleno, most of the MSIL’s cars, and monthly figures in recent months.
In July, August and September, Baleno sales hovered between 10,500-11,500 unit mark. Demand for Baleno again rose in the festive month of October with sales crossing 16,000 mark after five months.
At present, Baleno comes in three engine options — 1.2-litre VVT petrol BS-VI (83 hp and 113 Nm), 1.2-litre Dual Jet, Dual VVT petrol BS-VI (90 hp and 113 Nm) and 1.3-litre DDiS 190 diesel (75 hp and 190 Nm). All the motors come with a standard 5-speed manual gearbox.
The Baleno 1.2-litre VVT petrol is also offered with an automatic CVT.
There is also a Baleno RS variant with 1.0-litre Boosterjet DITC petrol mill that churns out 102 hp and 150 Nm of torque.
Price of the RS variant was recently cut by Rs 1 lakh. Baleno is priced between Rs 5.59 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) and Rs 8.90 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).