Among Buyers, a Senior Maruti

Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer of Marketing & Sales at MSIL, told PTI that the segment has clocked 250,000 units in the last five months out of total PV industry sales of close to 440,000 units, at a monthly run rate of around 50,000 units. Compared to the pre-GST 2.0 period, premium hatchback sales have grown by 17 per cent, with MSIL witnessing a 28 per cent growth in the segment, Banerjee noted. "Every third vehicle in the premium hatchback segment that is being sold today happens to be the Baleno.

It has got a very high brand consideration, and in the last five months of this financial year, we have sold close to 8,3177 units, at over 16,500 units per month," he added. The company has fully utilised the production capacity of Baleno and Fronx at its Hansalpur plant in Gujarat. Asserting that premium hatchbacks are here to stay, Banerjee said, "If the PV industry reaches 6.3 million units in FY31 and even if SU Vs are 60-65 per cent of the total market, there is a huge market for the premium hatchback in the remaining 35 per cent.

The company has introduced the new version of its Baleno with special festive prices starting at 609,000 rupees (ex-showroom Bengaluru). The new Baleno comes with a first-in-segment Level 2 ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) with ventilated front seats. It is powered by the company's 'Advanced Z12E' powertrain with a maximum power output of 61 kW at 5,700 rpm and 112.4 Nm of peak torque at 4,500 rpm, and is equipped with idle start-stop technology. When GST 2.0 came, many in the industry said it is the SUV which is going to be the major beneficiary, but right now the company's hatchbacks are doing very well, he said, adding that "there is a market for SUV also, but there is also a market for premium hatchbacks.