According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), 244,880 cars were sold in the mini segment (cars with a length of less than 3,600 mm and having engine displacement up to 1 litre) between April and August this year. The 1981-founded MSIL, with M800, Alto, A-Star and WagonR, has 81 per cent share in the segment, whereas the 1996-incorporated HMIL (Hyundai Santro) and General Motors (Chevrolet Beat) have a percentage market share of 14 and 5.3, respectively.

Industry observers say grabbing market share from a company (MSIL) which has held sway over the small car segment in the country for nearly three decades, may not be as easy. Abdul Majeed, leader, automotive practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers, notes the competition is going to stiffen in the segment with the Eon. “Maruti Suzuki has always read the market accurately and done things different in terms of product pricing and new launches. While the segment will expand, it will not be easy to make a dent in their market share.”

Last year, Alto tipped global bestsellers such as Volkswagen Golf in Germany and the Fiat Punto and Volkswagen Gol in Brazil to become the largest selling compact car globally. In 2010, MSIL sold 300,956 units, making the Alto , the first car to outsell global best sellers.

Maruti Suzuki hawked as many as 347,000 units of the car in the last financial year – an increase of 48 per cent as compared to the 235,000 units sold the previous year. The company sells on an average 32,000 units of the Alto every month. According to Siam data, HMIL sold 34,286 units of small car Santro in the first five months of the year.

Shashank Srivastava, chief general manager (sales & marketing), MSIL, says, “Eon does add to the competition in the segment, but Maruti is known for making small cars. Our cars have low cost of ownership and higher resale value.”

We have to see what package Eon offers.”

It was in September 2000 that Maruti Suzuki launched Alto in India. Over the past decade, the Delhi-hadquartered company has sold 1.67 million units of the car. Alto is the first car to have sold 100,000 units in a record time of 150 days.