Maruti Suzuki will launch the Alto 800 on October 16

Small car market leader Maruti Suzuki will launch the highly anticipated Alto 800 on October 16. The new small car is expected to help the small car major regain ground that it has lost due to declining sales in the last few months.

For the first time since its launch eight years ago, the Alto sales declined 34.83 per cent in April-August 2012 to 89,000 units as compared to 1.22 lakh units in the corresponding period a year-ago. Speaking on the impending launch, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) vice president Market Manohar Bhat said “We want to do what we were doing and even better with the Alto 800 coming in."

The new model will be powered a new 796cc engine which is likely to give an ARAI certified 22kmpl, a feature the company hopes to bank on due to the high price of petrol. The car will replace the existing base model Alto and will have a sub-Rs 2 lakh price allowing it to compete with the Tata Nano and the Hyundai EON. It is also expected to have a CNG option at the time of its launch.

Read more about the Alto 800 in our upcoming cars section or checkout out our recent story about the interiors of the car. 

Image courtesy: Autocar