What lies behind Maruti Alto’s Himachal Success?

What they say is true – old habits die hard. Being observer by nature, I keep noticing and analyzing ‘business angle’ behind things in my surrounding, which many others around me may miss completely; the interesting part is, this remains true even when I am holidaying. In fact today I want to talk about one such commercial trend which I noticed in the middle of nature’s most amazing creations – ice laden mountains and free flowing rivers. Last June, while traveling through Himachal’s renowned tourism spots – Shimla, Kullu & Manali – I could not help but notice a strong presence of Maruti’s Alto amongst other tourist vehicles.

Before my visit, I had a perception that on this rugged and hilly terrain I would only find sturdy vehicles – the likes of Jeep, Tata-Sumo, Toyota-Innova, Mahindra-Scorpio & Bollero etc. But as soon as I ended my amazing journey on a famous Kalka – Shimla Toy train, I saw a small Maruti Alto roaming around in Shimla’s narrow and winding roads. I immediately thought how enthusiastic a tourist could be to drive one’s own small car to such tough heights! While checking in into a hotel, the manager at desk inquired for our itinerary. I asked for a rented vehicle with a driver and to my surprise the option list included Maruti Alto among others. Apart from being convenient for two persons, it was the cheapest option and hence I chose it, although with bit doubt in my mind regarding the vehicle’s ability to support our plans in this uneven terrain with rough road conditions.

The next morning, we roamed around in our little princess on narrow, winding hilly roads in an around Shimla and I was really happy with its performance. That is when an analyst inside me came to the fore and made me think further on this topic. Once back, I even tried looking at this using my most reliable partner – Google, but found nothing on the topic. This is when I tried thinking logically and arrived at several conclusive reasons.

There appears to be several underlying aspects behind successful acceptance of this small-wonder from Maruti’s stable in the local tourist-vehicle market. Himachal boasts several of the favourite Honeymoon spots across India; Alto, though considered smaller, provides sufficient space for the newly weds. On hills, the roads are narrow which again favours Alto’s small body; while overtaking or finding an always-scarce parking space, especially inside Shimla, many pride owners of big and sturdy vehicles would look with envy at this small beauty’s ability to accommodate easily and effortlessly in small space. Maruti is long known for its comparative higher mileage which again adds another feather in Alto’s cap. Being at the lower end of a price belt, it is an affordable option for a lower-middle class taxi-driver who can think of owning an Alto to be able to earn on his own. Maruti invariably boasts the widest and deepest reach of service stations and parts stores which again makes it easy to go with Alto.

Thinking on these aspects I concluded my Himachal journey inside the cozy comfortable interiors of Alto. Amazing was the fact that we used at least three different Altos during the whole journey and none of them had given us even a slightest of trouble in any form. So my vote is for Alto hereon!