Drivers had the Dzire in 2018 as Maruti ruled roads

Maruti Suzuki topped all the categories in which it offered a model in 2018, with the Dzire pipping the Alto to be the country’s top selling car.

The figures are up to November but trends are unlikely to change with only a month’s numbers due to be published.

Maruti Suzuki sold 235,056 units of the new Dzire, their sub-4 metre compact car, until November-end. This made it the highest selling car in India. On top of this, they also sold 12,759 units of the old Dzire Tour, making a total 26% increase over last year.

Their small car Alto took the second spot overall in India with total sales of 231,540 units in 2018. This is a slight dip compared to the 2017 sales of 237,386.

Maruti Suzuki saw a big jump in sales of the Swift. It was 211,840 units of the hatchback as compared to 157,578. Sales of subcompact car Baleno rose 25% to 199,101.

Behind them are the multi utility vehicle Wagon R and SUV Vitara Brezza with figures of 149,480 and 145,799 respectively.

No other car comes close to the figures Maruti Suzuki has managed to notch up.

The only other car that appears to be gaining momentum is the sports utility vehicle Hyundai Creta. The Korean company has sold 113,274 units this calendar year and behind them comes Tata Motors’ subcompact offering, the Tiago, with sales of 86,631 units in the same period.

Among the hatchbacks cars with engines up to one litre, it is Alto by a long way. The Santro has just been reintroduced in the Indian market and Hyundai will have to fight out a bitter battle with Maruti if they want to take away a chunk of the share in this highest-selling category.

Among the hatchbacks and sedans with engines up to 1.4 litre, the Dzire, Swift and Baleno take the top spots and next come the Hyundai Elite i20 and Grand i10 that have seen sales numbers of 129,164 and 122,799 respectively. This category is also Maruti Suzuki’s stronghold and it is going be really tough to take away their market share in this popular category.

The Tiago has brought some cheer to Tata in this category with 2018 sales of 86,631 units.

In the sedan class with engines upto 1.6 litre, the competition is much stiffer. But Maruti Suzuki again rules with the Ciaz selling 46,025 units in 2018. This was a dip from the 2017 figures of 59,585. It was 40,604 and 38,750 units for the Hyundai Verna and Honda City respectively.

Among the sedans with engines of up to 2 litre, the Toyota Corolla sold 3,086 units (3,957 in 2017), while 2,647 Skoda Octavia cars hit the roads.

Among the SUVs below Rs 15 lakh, it is again Maruti Suzuki that tops with sales of 145,799 units (129,405 in 2017) of Vitara Brezza and the Hyundai Creta coming in second with sales of 113,274 units.

These two SUVs have beaten the likes of Mahindra Bolero, Tata Nexon and Maruti Suzuki’s Ertiga and S-Cross, Ford Ecosport and Honda WR-V.