After announcing that the Swift brand has crossed lifetime sales of 20 lakh units earlier this week, Maruti Suzuki is back with yet another sales milestone. This time around it is the Baleno that has surpassed a sales mark. The blockbuster hatch has breached lifetime sales of 5 lakh units in just over three years after its introduction in October 2015. To be precise, the Maruti Suzuki Baleno achieved the said feat in 38 months.

Here’s what R S Kalsi, senior executive director, marketing and sales, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., said in an official release:

“Baleno has become a resounding success in the highly competitive premium hatchback segment. It is a testimony of our best in class technology and customer experience. Our engineers have ensured that Baleno offers superior ride and handling, class leading performance and safety. With a staggering 20.6 per cent growth in first half of 2018-19, Baleno has been among the top selling cars in India, since 2016. We are grateful for our customers’ constant support that has made Baleno India’s most preferred premium hatchback.”

The Maruti Suzuki Baleno currently holds over 27 per cent of market share in its segment. That’s a lot considering there are potent options in the same category, such as the Honda Jazz and the Hyundai Elite i20. The company said that during the first seven months of the current fiscal year, the Baleno saw a growth of 20.4 per cent.

The Baleno is the only car in Maruti Suzuki’s portfolio that is available with a CVT (continuously variable transmission). The gearbox, however, is only offered with the 1.2-litre petrol engine which produces 84PS/115Nm. The other transmission option is a 5-speed manual which, apart from the petrol motor, is also available with 1.3-litre diesel mill (75PS/190Nm) and the 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder BoosterJet engine (102PS/150Nm). The latter is only available in the Baleno RS, a variant that competes with the Volkswagen Polo GT TSI and the Fiat Abarth Punto.