The bestselling cars of 2015

2015 has bid us adieu and it's time now to see if there has been any major change in the list of bestsellers. In the Top 10, there are six cars from market leader Maruti against five in 2014, two from Hyundai (down from three), and one each from Honda and Mahindra.  Here is the top 10. Text : Sumant Banerji

No.1 Maruti Alto

Sales: 272,096 units

Growth: +2.85 per cent over 2014
The Alto retains its stranglehold at the top of the podium with a comfortable lead over the rest of the field. This is the diminutive car's 10th consecutive year at the top and there are no signs of letting up. Though it is still some way off its peak sales of over 300,000 units per annum achieved a few years ago, the introduction of an AMT version in the fag end of 2014 has perhaps helped it register year-on-year growth for the first time in four years. Alto has withstood competition from the likes of Hyundai Eon, Tata Nano, Datsun Go and the latest to join the bandwagon, Renault Kwid, with aplomb, so much so that the Eon, once billed as an Alto killer, bows out of the top 10 this year.

No. 2 Maruti Dzire
Sales: 236,038 units
Growth: +11.93 per cent over 2014
Like the Alto, the Dzire also had its hands full staving off competition from all around. The past three years have seen a flurry of launches in its segment - from Honda Amaze to Hyundai Xcent and Tata Zest. The strength of any brand is best displayed when times get tough, and Dzire is a great example of it. Not only did it manage to grow its numbers over a large base, it grew in double digits. It has now consolidated its position at #2 and with some help, could also go on to challenge Alto's hegemony at the top. The introduction of the AMT version could just help it along the way.

No. 3 Maruti Swift
Sales: 206,924 units
Growth: +2.02 per cent over 2014

Since its launch in 2005, Swift has been rewriting the rules of the game in the
small car segment and for now it does not seem anybody will be able to match up to it. Its fan following is humungous and every year it defies logic on how it manages to grow itself. From a Beat to Micra to Polo, there are almost a dozen cars trying to queer its pitch, but curiously Swift's biggest competition could be its own stablemate Baleno. The super success of the latter has started to show in Swift's numbers in the past few months, and though this car is destined to stay in the top 10, its battle with Baleno will be an intriguing one in 2016.

No. 4 Maruti Wagon R
Sales: 170,399 units
Growth: +6.99 per cent over 2014
This boxy little car has been around for decades and though one would assume it is past its sell by date, it continues to shore up the numbers. One of Maruti's original bread-and-butter models, Wagon R finds itself in great demand in small towns where people will only look at a Maruti. It costs more than an Alto, but its tall-boy design is a great hit with families. The imminent demise of Santro also helps its case. Its CNG version apparently accounts for over 10 per cent of its sales and is a much sought-after variant in select pockets of the country where the fuel is available.

No. 5 Hyundai Grand i10
Sales: 157,298 units
Growth: +11.59 per cent over 2014
The i10 Grand consolidates its position as the only non-Maruti car in the Top 5. Like many Hyundai successes in the past, it was a relatively slow start for the car in 2013 but it would have surprised many with its strong numbers in 2015. It is now inching very close to Wagon R in a hark back to the days when Santro used to go toe to toe with it. Heavy discounts and attractive promotional schemes have helped its case, but that is now part of the game in India now. The Indian customer just loves to bargain.

No. 6 Hyundai Elite i20
Sales: 130,084 units
Growth: +88.21 per cent over 2014

The Elite i20 was the biggest facelift success of 2014 (launched August 2014) and in its full year run it has done what even the most optimistic South Korean would not have imagined. Growing a massive 88 per cent, it crossed the 100,000 mark for the first time. In fact, it is the first time in many years that two Hyundai cars have sold more than 1 lakh each. Its numbers were in a way boosted in 2015 with the addition of the Active i20 variant, a higher ground clearance version of the regular car, but it is testimony to the vehicle's effervescent appeal than it still carries a small waiting period in some parts of the country. Together with the bumper success of the Creta, Elite and Grand truly makes 2015, Hyundai's year.

No. 7 Mahindra Bolero
Sales: 88,047 units
Growth: -13.72 per cent over 2014
The good old Bolero somehow retains its position as India's best selling SUV (though I have a personal problem calling it that as it doesn't have a 4WD version anymore) but that's only because the Creta does not get a full year (launched in end July). Its near 14 per cent drop in sales, coming off an 8 per cent decline in 2014, mirrors the problems diesel utility vehicles today face in India. Bolero has always been largely a rural centric product with small towns and big villages lapping it up for its versatility. Though it has so far held off competition from Mahindra's own TUV so far, it is perhaps safe to say that its best years are behind it. Even then, it will have its fair share of customers. You may scoff at its archaic design and lack of refinement, but there is no denying a Bolero can do what a lot of other vehicles can't - take bad roads head on with 16 people squeezed inside.

No. 8 Maruti Celerio
Sales: 82,961 units
Growth: +22.69 per cent over 2014
The only new entrant in the list, though it comes as no surprise as Celerio was close to breaking into the Top 10 even in 2014. Its success aided by the AMT technology proves that nothing beats a Maruti when it comes to making low-cost, fuel-economical city cars. In 2015, the company gambled with a mini diesel engine in the Celerio as well, and while that may have led to some incremental numbers, one gets a feeling it is the convenience of gearless technology and increasing congestion on the roads that works more for Celerio. It is odds-on favourite to hold its own against the Tata Zica slated to be launched in a week's time, but with two back-to-back failures (Zest and Bolt), the law of averages may work for Tata.

No. 9 Honda City
Sales: 82,912 units
Growth: +7.23 per cent over 2014
For the longest time, Honda City has been the benchmark for mid size sedans. In large parts of the country, it is symbolic of the owner having arrived in life. The car that has been the mainstay for Honda in India suffered a bit of a blip a few years ago when the surge for diesel cars and the lack of that option in the City enabled Hyundai Verna to ride all over it. The introduction of a diesel engine in January 2014 has seen regular service being restored and City is head and shoulders ahead of any of its competitors. In its segment, it is destined to stay that way even as its own future in the Top 10 may be curtailed by the flurry of compact SUVs in future. Honda itself would play a part in that with the BR-V in 2016.

No. 10 Maruti Omni
Sales: 78,927 units
Growth: +5.95 per cent over 2014
Omni shares its birthday with the Maruti 800, and while the latter rests in its grave, India's best known van trudges along fine. From ferrying school kids to milk cans and farm produce, Omni is the back bone of India's last mile connectivity and ubiquitous in the country's nooks and corners, highways and bylanes. It doubles up as a swift and efficient people carrier for short distances to a cargo van, and its versatility is its biggest USP. Maruti does not offer a paisa discount on this nor does it occupy any mindspace in its marketing spends, yet it is the company's sixth-largest selling vehicle. Stricter emission norms may put an end to its story in 2017, but for now the Omni is happy in its own place.

Hyundai Eon at rank 11 with 71,834 units may have seen the end of its run in the Top 10.

Honda Amaze at rank 12 with 63,831 units holds on to its sales as well as position from 2014 but may be the most deserving candidate to have never featured in the Top 10.

Maruti Ertiga, Eeco and Toyota Innova round up the Top 15, with Eeco surprisingly shining bright with a near 23 per cent growth over its 2014 tally. Perhaps it is warming up to step into the shoes of Omni already. Expect a wide number of upheavals in 2016, with Creta notching up 40,000 unit sales in just about five months. It should take over the #1 SUV tag from Bolero this year. However, that was bad news for Duster and EcoSport. Both suffered badly in the second half of 2015 when Creta started flexing its muscles.