The Maruti Suzuki WagonR clocked a 30-lakh sales milestone this year and became India’s best-selling car for the second year in a row. WagonR has the highest percentage of repeat buyers as 24% of its customers prefer to upgrade to a new WagonR, according to Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing and Sales, Maruti Suzuki India
“WagonR, The True Tall Boy, has consistently featured in the top 10 best-selling cars in India since the last decade and has also held its position as the best-selling passenger vehicle in the country for the last two years,” said Srivastava. Watch WagonR's journey from being India's 1st family car to becoming the top-selling car in the country
Maruti Suzuki WagonR was launched in 1999 in response to Hyundai's Santro. With a tall boy stance, the car gained popularity quickly. A minor facelift of the 1999 model was introduced in 2003, which received a chrome line in the grille, body-coloured bumpers, and clear-lens tail lamps
Due to its boxy tall boy design, the WagonR offered significantly more space than its dimensions suggested. This made the car a hit among family-oriented buyers who wanted space for people and their luggage without having to pay more for the space. That's how WagonR came to be known as India's first family car
The first major facelift for the Maruti Suzuki WagonR came in 2006, seven years after the original. The car was adapted to LPG, and it even looked quite refreshing as it got a completely new front styling with headlamps getting a major update along with the grille, which got horizontal slats with chrome inserts
In 2010, Maruti launched the all-new WagonR. The automaker added the option of CNG as a fuel in this WagonR lineup. Maruti claimed fuel efficiency shot up to 18.9 kmpl, which later became its key selling point in the famous ad campaign ‘Kitna deti hai?’ Though the car retained its ‘tall boy’ design, WagonR was completely reworked to look more upmarket
With a larger wheelbase and length, the 2010 WagonR moved up the chain to rival Hyundai i10 instead of the Santro. It received a major update with additions like ABS, airbags, defoggers, and fog lamps. With the new interiors, this WagonR was quite a big hit in the market
The first facelift to the second generation WagonR came in 2013, with cosmetic changes. It received a narrower grille, restyled bumpers with larger vents and a new fog lamp housing. It also got the famous dual glovebox, manual day/night IRVM and an integrated Eagle Wings music system with integrated USB and AUX-in ports. This variant got an automatic ‘AGS’ variant in 2015
In 2013, Maruti Suzuki launched the WagonR Stingray which looked a lot like the Japanese Kei car. This variant looked premium with its chrome-finished grille, projector headlamps, gunmetal grey alloys, side skirts, and a chrome boot garnish with ‘Stingray’ embossing. In 2017, this variant was renamed the WagonR VXi+. The features remained the same but the Stingray badge was dropped
In 2019, with a new platform, new engine, and host of new features, the new WagonR was launched which was leaps ahead of the previous variants. In 2022, Maruti Suzuki launched the updated version of WagonR priced between Rs 5.39 lakh and Rs 7.10 lakh (ex-showroom), powered by the advanced K-series 1-litre and 1.2-litre engines
In December 2022, Maruti Suzuki showcased the prototype version of the WagonR flex-fuel vehicle. The WagonR FFV has been designed and developed locally by engineers of Maruti Suzuki with necessary support from Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan. It was unveiled in the presence of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari
Maruti Suzuki WagonR FFV is India’s first mass-segment flex-fuel car and it has been designed to run on any ethanol-petrol blend between 20% (E20) and 85% (E85) fuel. Maruti Suzuki has officially revealed that it will launch its first flex fuel vehicle by 2025