India 1985-2004: Maruti 800 dominates

Launched in December 1984 in India, the Maruti 800 was originally based on the 1979 Suzuki Fronte, before being replaced by a rebadged version of the 1984 Suzuki Alto in 1986.

It was India’s best selling car for 20 years, from 1985 to 2004 and over 2.5 million units of the model have been sold in India during that period. More info on the Maruti 800 here.

In 2004, Maruti decided to cut the price of the more modern Maruti Alto, with the result being sales of the Alto skyrocketed. The Maruti Alto first passed the 800 in May 2004 with 10,373 sales vs. 10,016 for the 800, and reiterated that feat 6 more times during the year. However the Maruti 800 kept its best selling title one last time in 2004 at 132,706 sales vs. 112,048 for the Alto.

Top 10 2004 Ranking Table and Alto/800 monthly comparison: click on ‘Read more’ below the original Maruti 800 pic.

The original 1984 Maruti 800DX