India Full Year 2012: Maruti Swift and DZire beat records

Maruti Swift

* See the All-brands ranking (incl. Mercedes, BMW and Audi) and Top 70 best-selling models by clicking on the title!  *

This Indian update is brought to you by the Nissan Micra.

Indian new car sales reach a new frontier in 2012: up 14% year-on-year to a record 2,654,835 registrations, the first time ever Indian consumers purchase more than 2.5 million cars in a single year. The Maruti Alto is the most popular model in the country for the 8th year in a row but its sales are down 8% on 2011 to 286,833 units. Its strongest 2012 month was March at 35,245 sales, below its all-time record of 38,065 in March 2011. It’s Maruti’s year, with 4 models in the Top 4 for the first time ever…

Maruti Dzire

The new generation Swift and Dzire are another 2012 Indian success story. The Swift took the lead of the monthly Indian ranking for the very first time in April and hit a record 20,739 sales in February, finishing the year up 46% to 186,797 units. The sedan version, called Maruti DZire, also kick goals. It beat its monthly sales record 3 times this year (February, March and May), bringing it to 17,707 and finishing the year at 154,273 sales, up 55% year-on-year. The Maruti Wagon R is down 2 spots to #4 and 134,823 units.

Mahindra Bolero

The Mahindra Bolero is the other star of the year, up 18% to #5 with 113,457 sales, breaking the 10,000 monthly units barrier for the first time ever in March and hitting a record 11,078 sales in October. Hyundai is still the #2 brand in the country but for the first time since 2009 it doesn’t place any model on the podium: the i10 is down 29% to #6 and the Eon hasn’t managed to shoot up above it, up to #8 with 93,578 units. Tata’s best-seller is the Indica/Vista, down 5% to #7.

Maruti Ertiga

The Hyundai i20 reached new heights in 2012: record 7,775 sales in July and best-ever #4 in August, but stays #9 over the Full Year at 85,299 units. The Tata Nano breaks into the year-end Indian Top 10 for the very first time in 2012, up 3 spots and 8% to #10 with 76,747 sales, but this is still far from the sales level necessary to make it a success. After 3 relaunches it seems Tata has exhausted the Nano’s potential…

Mahindra XUV500

Other great performers this year include the Toyota Innova up 46% to #12, the Maruti Ertiga landing directly at #16 with 59,467 units, the Hyundai Verna up 41% to #17, Mahindra XUV500 up 671% to #22 for its first full year in market and steadily gaining ground all through the year to a record #16 in December, the Tata Sumo up 46% to #25, the Honda Brio arriving at #27, Nissan Sunny at #29, Renault Duster directly at #32 and hitting an unbelievable #13 in November and December, Skoda Rapid at #33 and Mahindra Quanto at #45.

Previous post: India December 2012: Maruti Alto and Toyota Innova shine

Previous year: India Full Year 2011: Maruti Alto leads for the 7th consecutive year

More commentary, Full Year 2012 Top 70/monthly Top 50 models and All-brands Ranking Tables: click on ‘Read more’ below.

Sponsored feature: 3 Good Reasons for Buying the Nissan Micra: 1. Ever since its launch, the car has been a favourite with urban youths for its exceptional agility and responsiveness. It is fun to drive Micra, especially on Indian roads. It is a lightweight, fuel-efficient, and nimble car that you’d love to drive. 2. If you are driving in the city, you need a car that has a lot of stamina. The Micra performs like a big, bold vehicle when it comes to a long run on city roads. 3. Not just when you are driving it, but even when you reach home and it is dark, the car can help unlock your door and avoid puddles with its “Follow-me headlights”. The headlamp flasher leaves the headlights on for up to two minutes.Thus, you can bring home a Nissan Micra at an affordable price and have fun driving. Do not forget to visit www.gaadi.com for all your answers to car buying before you zero in on a Nissan Micra.