The country's largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki will soon be adding yet another feather in its cap with its new premium hatchback set to touch 75,000 sales mark in India. The Baleno, the second model to be sold through the Nexa premium dealership, was launched in the country in October 2015.
According to Autocarprofessional, the Baleno, which has already clocked sales of over 65,000 in the country, is expected to touch 75,000 units in June. Maruti has sold over 10,000 units in May alone and is expected to clock the same or little over it in June. The report also added that the petrol models of the Baleno are in great demand and nearly 70 percent of the total sales are from the petrol variants of the hatchback.
It was reported recently that Maruti has over 45,000 bookings that are yet to be served in the country and the company is planning to increase the production to meet the scaling demand. Currently, Maruti Baleno commands over six months of waiting period. With the increase in production, the company hopes to cut down the waiting period in the coming months.
The Baleno, which rivals Hyundai Elite i20 and Honda Jazz, made it to the list of the top 10 bestselling passenger cars in November and outreached the Elite i20 first in December 2015. The Baleno had outsold the sales of its Hyundai Elite i20 in May. Maruti Suzuki sold 10,004 units of the Baleno, while Hyundai sold 8,600 units of the Elite i20.
Under the hood, Maruti Baleno includes 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.
Currently, Maruti sells two models through its premium dealership Nexa — the S-Cross and the Baleno. Nexa is also expected to welcome the Ignis and the Baleno Rs during this festive season. The company is also expected to expand the Nexa network to 250 from the current 127 by the end of the ongoing financial year.
