Maruti Suzuki Baleno
Maruti Suzuki BalenoMaruti Suzuki

The competition between Maruti Suzuki Baleno and the Hyundai i20 in the premium hatchback segment is getting more intense with every passing month. In September 2016, Maruti Suzuki Baleno took a narrow lead over the Hyundai i20 range which includes Elite i20 and the i20 Active.

Maruti Suzuki sold 10,623 units of the Baleno in September. Hyundai India sold 10,254 units of the i20 range last month. The difference is wafer thin 378 units only. However, Hyundai has more things to worry. The sales of i20 range have dropped by 12 percent compared to the 11,702 units in September 2015.

In August 2016, Hyundai i20 range was leading with 9,146 unit sales against Maruti Suzuki Baleno's 8,671 units. Baleno was leading in July sales with 9,120 units against Elite i20's 8,205 units. However, the June sales were in favour of Hyundai. Maruti Suzuki had sold only 6,967 units of Baleno in June, while Hyundai had sold 7,250 units of Elite i20. Maruti Suzuki's drop in June sales was due to a production halt for week-long maintenance in the beginning of the month.

In May and April, Baleno was on the driving seat with 10,004 units and 9,562 units sales, respectively, while Hyundai sold only 8,600 and 9,400 units of Elite i20. After a promising start that saw Baleno overtaking Elite i20 sales for the first time in December 2015, the months of January, February and March 2016 were not in favour of Maruti Suzuki as its premium hatchback lagged behind Elite i20.

Maruti Suzuki Baleno has crossed a cumulative domestic sale of one lakh units on 4 October. Company is yet to deliver over 50,000 confirmed booking. Waiting period for the premium hatchback currently stands at an average of six months depending upon the variant.

Under the hood, Maruti Baleno is powered by a 1.2-litre K-Series petrol engine and a 1.3-litre DDiS diesel engine. While the petrol engine is tuned to develop 83bhp and 115Nm of torque, the diesel mill churns out 74bhp and 190Nm of torque.

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