Last week, Maruti Suzuki announced that the Ciaz had surpassed 3 lakh sales since its launch in 2014. That made the sedan the fastest in the segment to cross that milestone. Today, we have yet another development from India’s largest carmaker. And it is on the same lines, albeit with much larger numbers. The Swift, one of India’s favourite hatchbacks, has crossed 25 lakh sales. It took just over 16 years to achieve that feat.

Maruti Suzuki first launched the Swift in May 2005. Back then, it was considered too expensive for a “small car”. But, the Swift did break that notion and, by 2010, had found over 5 lakh takers. In 2013, the lifetime sales counter had risen past 10 lakh, and by 2016, another 5 lakh units were sold. The remaining 10 lakh sales were clocked in about five years, pointing to average annual sales of 2 lakh units. In fact, Swift claimed the title of India’s bestselling car in 2020-21. Month-on-month, it reserves a spot in the top ten cars sold in the country.

The hatchback in question received a mid-life refresh earlier this year. Besides gaining some cosmetic and feature updates, it also bagged a punchier powerplant. The 1.2-litre engine offers 89bhp/113Nm and comes coupled to a 5-speed manual transmission as standard. Alternatively, one could have it with a 5-speed AMT. As per Maruti Suzuki, the AMT-equipped Swift offers better fuel efficiency (23.76kmpl vs 23.20kmpl).

Ever since India graduated from BSIV to BS6 (Bharat Stage 6) emission norms, Maruti Suzuki has been selling the Swift (and all other models) in petrol form only. Even so, 7-8 cars out of the top ten sold in India come from Maruti Suzuki’s stable. As for the Swift, it competes directly with the now-axed Ford Figo and the Hyundai Grand i10 Nios. If you had to buy a hatchback in that segment, which one would it be?