The Maruti Suzuki Baleno has reached a new sales milestone of 8 lakh units in India. The automaker has announced that the Baleno has achieved the milestone in a record time of under 5 years since it was launched in the market. The premium hatchback was launched in 2015 and has been the segment leader since 2016. The Maruti Suzuki Baleno is manufactured only in India. It is exported to other regions including Australia, Europe, Latin America, Africa, Middle-East and South-East Asia. Maruti Suzuki reintroduced the Baleno name with the premium hatchback after noticing the love the Indian market had for the discontinued Baleno sedan from its past.
At launch in 2015, the Baleno was offered with the standard 1.2-litre petrol and the Fiat-sourced 1.3-litre turbo diesel engine. A 5 Speed manual transmission was standard, but a CVT automatic option was offered for the petrol variant as well. Within its first year of launch, the Baleno racked up 1 lakh unit sales in 2016. After witnessing popular demand for the automatic variant, Maruti Suzuki launched the top-sped Alpha trim with the CVT transmission in 2017. In 2018, the premium hatchback had crossed the 5 lakh unit sales milestone setting a new record in its segment.
In 2019, Maruti Suzuki updated the model with the Baleno facelift. At the time, the brand was also transitioning into the upcoming BS6 emission regulations in India. Maruti Suzuki decided to drop its diesel engine offering across its range. Now the Maruti Suzuki Baleno is offered with a 1.2-litre Dual Jet Dual VVT petrol engine which comes equipped with Suzuki’s mild-hybrid technology. Now in 2020, Maruti Suzuki has recoded over 8 lakh unit sales of the Baleno as it continues to lead the segment.
The Baleno in its premium hatchback segment although has a few rivals, the competition is fierce. The Baleno competes against the likes of the recently introduced Tata Altroz, in addition to the Volkswagen Polo, Honda Jazz. But its biggest challenger is the Hyundai i20. Now, Hyundai is gearing up to launch the all-new generation model of the i20 in India. Once it arrives, the battle between the i20 and the Baleno is expected to be getting even hotter for segment supremacy.
