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Maruti Suzuki WagonR joins Alto, Swift in a rare car club of India
The Maruti Suzuki WagonR has become only the third car after the Alto and the Swift to cross the production milestone of 35 lakh units since inception.
Maruti Suzuki WagonR has become only the third car to cross the production milestone of 35 lakh units, joining the likes of the Alto and Swift in a rarefied club.
Born as a Kei car in Japan in 1993 and launched in India in December 1999, the WagonR was an answer to the Hyundai Santro—the "tall boy" hatchback that was emerging as a worthy rival to the Maruti 800 due to its spacious interiors. While the Santro is no longer in production, the WagonR has soldiered on, so much so that it was India's best-selling car for the past four financial years.
“The WagonR kept evolving with introduction of new technology and features over time, while retaining its original DNA,” Hisashi Takeuchi, chief executive at Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., said in a statement on Thursday.
The continued success of the WagonR highlights India's sustained appetite for practical, fuel-efficient hatchbacks, even as the broader industry shifts focus towards SUVs and electric vehicles.
Manufacturing and Evolution
Now in its third generation, the WagonR is currently manufactured at Maruti Suzuki's facilities in Gurugram and Manesar, Haryana. Over the decades, the model has undergone several upgrades—including the most recent six airbags and antilock braking system as standard—to keep up with the times.
An LPG variant was launched in 2004, the CNG variant came in 2010, while the third-gen broke cover in 2019. An electric variant was also in the works, only for the plans to be scrapped later.
Global Context
While the WagonR is a staple on Indian roads—it's the model of choice for lakhs of taxi drivers in India—the hatchback is now sold across 75 countries raking up cumulative sales of 10 million units (1 crore) globally.
To be sure, the WagonR—nor the Alto or Swift—does not feature among the Top 10 best-selling cars globally. The Toyota Corolla, with 53 million units tops the chart, followed by bevy of models by the likes of Toyota itself, as well as Honda, Volkswagen and Ford.
But there's a proviso: If we strictly looked at cars that didn't change their design for decades—the Toyota Corolla gets refreshed every 5-7 years—then the Top 10 most-produced list looks very different:
- Volkswagen Beetle (Type 1): 21.5 million
- Ford Model T: 16.5 million
- Lada Riva/Classic: 17 million
- Hyundai Accent/Verna: 10 million
- Renault Clio: 16 million
Still, the WagonR's production figures are comparable to those of legendary national icons like the Trabant (3.7 million) in East Germany or the original Mini (5.3 million) in the United Kingdom.
One must also remember that India's car penetration is abysmally low at 32-34 cars for every 1,000 people, which makes WagonR's production milestone stand out even more.
