VW Gol is the World’s Best Selling Small Car; Maruti Alto Comes Second

The Alto received this title in 2010 and retained it for the following year as well, however in 2012, the top spot was stolen by VW Gol which is a sort of Brazil’s Alto. The VW Gol has been Brazil’s top seller for the last 18 years!

The Maruti Alto’s slip in the global small car top spot is attributed to Indian market’s inclination towards diesel cars. In 2012, the net sales of the Maruti Alto slipped by 8% thereby handing over the leadership to Gol.

The Gol’s main rival Fiat Uno sealed the final place on the podium. The VW Gol’s Brazilian sales stood at 2,93,293 units while Maruti managed to sell 2,86,833 units and the Fiat Uno clocked 2,55,838 units in Brazil.

The Alto’s sales had been declining from the start of the year owing to rapid dieselization and witnessed a lowest point in April which made the difference between the global first and second positions. The new Alto was launched in October last year and since then sales grew by 20% but the benefit of the new car’s sales can only be reaped next year.

Maruti is confident that the Alto has all the chance to reclaim its top spot from Gol in 2014. We presume that the Nano diesel would make it hard for the Alto to clock a consistent 30,000 + units every month.