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Car Models that Brought Fortune to the Industry in 2009

The financial year that ended in March 2009 had its share of winners and losers. The new car models launch such as the New Honda City, Mahindra Xylo, New Skoda Superb, Fiat Linea, Hyundai i20 and the BMW 5-Series have attracted buyers towards car showrooms which accelerated the sales in the backdrop of global financial crisis. There was a greater impetus in car sales in the country during February and March ‘09 owing to national elections that were held during the months.

To know about the top winners in different segments and their sales figures, check out the below list:

The Maruti Alto retained its place as the single best selling car though its figures dropped by four percent last year. It sold 218,127 units in 2008-09.
The B-segment remained the single largest division of the market with sales of more than 670,000 units. New models such as the Maruti A-star and Hyundai i20 made their debut in this category during the last fiscal year. Hyundai i20’s sales notched up a whopping 1,000 units which was much more than Hyundai’s monthly target and expectation.
Maruti dominated the B-segment with two of its models recording strong sales growth. The Maruti WagonR topped the B-segment with sales reaching 134,768 units. The sales of Maruti Swift also rose to 110,071 units which is a solid 24 percent. The Swift was closely followed by Hyundai i10 whose sales touched 106,110 units. Sales of Hyundai Santro reported a respectable 91,466 units.
The C-segment became the fastest growing segment in the market. A total of 244,000 cars were sold in this sector which posted an increase of 12 percent over the previous financial year. The Maruti Swift Dzire displaced the traditional segment leader Honda City and became the top selling model in this category. The Dzire showed sales of 61,952 units while 38,249 units of Honda City were sold last year.
In the C-segment, the recently introduced New Honda City made a strong start with sales of 6,000 units in March 09 alone.
The stylish Fiat Linea also made a good debut posting sales of over 4,500 units in three months - from January to March 2009. The sales of this new Fiat saloon helped in nearly tripling company’s total annual sales to 8,200 units in 2008-09 from 3,300 units in 2007-08.
In the luxury segment, the BMW 5-Series saloon outsold its nearest competitor, the Mercedes-Benz E-class. The total sales of the 5-Series were 1,352 units compared to 1,128 units of the E-Class. In March alone, sales of the BMW 5-Series were 305 units

The new Skoda Superb 1.8-litre petrol model made an impressive entry in the luxury category. It exceeded Skoda’s monthly target by selling 156 units in within a month.
With sales of 4,108 units, the popular Honda Accord became the best selling model in its price segment, beating its arch rivals such as the Toyota Camry and the Hyundai Sonata.
In the sport utility vehicle (SUV) category, the Mahindra Bolero became the largest selling model and boasted huge sales of 55,921 units last year. Excluding small cars, the Bolero had the highest number of sales in the auto industry in the last fiscal year.
Vehicles that offered diesel engine option such as Maruti Swift, Maruti Dzire, Fiat Linea, and 520d diesel model of the BMW 5-Series posted strong growth in sales during the last fiscal year.
Newly launched models such as the Mahindra Xylo, New Honda City, New Skoda Superb, Fiat Linea, BMW 5-Series, Hyundai i20 and the Tata Xenon offered high performance, good styling, great value and plenty of features to buyers which in turn, boosted their sales.
Cars that witnessed rise in sales during 2008-09 compared to previous financial year include the Chevrolet Spark (32,528 units), Skoda Fabia (5,738 units), Fiat Palio Stile (3,679 units), Tata Indigo/Marina (49,169 units), Ford Ikon (7,705 units), Hyundai Accent (12,223 units), Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero (1,814 units), Chevrolet Captiva (2,134 units), Mercedes-Benz C-Class (1,525 units), BMW 3-Series (1,075 units), Toyota Corolla Altis (8,068 units), Skoda Laura (4,549 units), and Tata Magic (31,815 units).
The newly introduced Mahindra Xylo sold 7,201 units, Maruti Gypsy reported 7,219 units sales. Sales of Maruti Versa were estimated to be 1,440 units, Tata Xenon sold 161 units, and Hyundai Tucson recorded sales of 50 units during the financial year.
Total domestic sales of the top 10 car companies in India - Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor India, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, General Motors India, Honda SIEL, Toyota India, Ford India, Skoda India and HM-Mitsubishi, remained almost the same in 2008-09 compared to the previous financial year.