Maruti Suzuki Baleno still commands 6 months waiting period; 45,000 bookings yet to be served

Maruti Suzuki's premium hatchback, the Baleno, seems to be giving a tough time to the Nexa dealerships with the unprecedented demand for the model leading to prolonged waiting period of six months in the country. Maruti Baleno, the second offering to be sold through the Nexa premium dealerships, continues to command a waiting period of six months and the company is yet to fulfil the order of 45,000 units, CarandBike reported.

Maruti Baleno entered the Indian market in October last year and has garnered over 1 lakh bookings in the country within four months of its launch. The waiting period of the Baleno has been starched to six months and the company still seems to be struggling to meet the scaling demand. Maruti had ramped up the production of the Baleno and is currently running at full capacity of production at its plant.

The Baleno outsold the sales of its arch rival Hyundai Elite i20 in May for the second consecutive month. Maruti Suzuki sold 10,004 units of Baleno, while Hyundai sold 8,600 units of the Elite i20. The Baleno 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, which rivals Hyundai Elite i20 and Honda Jazz, is offered in four trims and seven body shades. 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.

Maruti is expected to expand the Baleno line-up during this festive season with the addition of the Baleno RS, which was showcased at the Auto Expo 2016 in February.