The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) announced that the sales of its popular premium compact car Swift in India has crossed the 1 million (10 lakh) mark.

The company launched the Swift hatchback (petrol variant) in May 2005 and the car’s sales had already crossed the 50,000-mark in May 2010. Meanwhile, the Swift diesel variant was launched in 2007, following which the overall sales of the car showed a marked increase.

Despite the financial crisis, Maruti Suzuki Swift managed to generate constant sales volume, showing its dominance in the Indian car market. The hatchback accounts for around 50 per cent of total sales of its segment with around 13,000 units per month.

Maruti Suzuki Swift is available in both petrol and diesel guise. While the petrol model is powered by 1.2-litre K-Series engine that churns out a maximum power output of 86bhp, the diesel version gets the 1.3-litre multijet engine that develops 74bhp. Both engines are mated to a five-speed manual transmission, which transmits power to the front wheels of the car.
The company will launch the facelifted Swift in India by next year, and the next generation Swift will come in 2017.