Maruti Suzuki Baleno loses lead in sales to Hyundai Elite i20 in January 2016

Maruti Suzuki's premium hatchback Baleno, which was launched on 26 October last year, has been on top gear in terms of sales. The Baleno sales overtook its prime rival, the Hyundai Elite i20's sales in December 2015 within three months of the launch. However, the road ahead for Baleno does not seem easy as the hatchback lost lead in sales when sales, according to the January reports.

Maruti Suzuki sold 7,698 units of the Baleno hatchback and secured eighth position in the top 10 best selling passenger vehicles, reports ET Auto. Hyundai, on the other hand, sold 8,250 units of the Elite i20 hatchback and became the sixth top selling car. Even though Hyundai i20 overtook Maruti Suzuki Baleno, the sales have dropped by 14 percent in comparison to the 9,541 units in the same month last year.

In December 2015, Maruti Suzuki sold 10,572 units of the Baleno, whereas the sales of its prime rival Elite i20 stood at 10,379 units. However, the scenario was different in November 2015. The sales of Elite i20 had touched 10,074 units then, while Maruti sold 9,074 Balenos. It is noteworthy that year-end sales didn't go well for both cars as the sales dropped compared to the last month of 2015.

Both Baleno and Elite i20 are far ahead in sales over its rivals like Honda Jazz with sales of 4,709 units and Volkswagen Polo that found 2,499 takers in January 2016. Hyundai India recently updated the Elite i20 model with projector headlamps with cornering lights and LED daytime running lights. The updates will keep the Elite i20 fresh to battle with the newbie, the Baleno.