Maruti Suzuki Swift, which has topped the sales charts to become India’s most popular premium hatchback has been awarded the Indian Car of the Year 2019 (ICOTY) by a jury of India’s leading automobile experts drawn from across publications.
Maruti Suzuki Swift is the only car in the country to win ICOTY awards for all its three generations. In 2006, at India’s first ICOTY awards, swift became the Indian car of the year. In 2012, the second generation, swift again bagged the automobile industry’s premium recognition by becoming the Indian car of the year. With this third Indian car of the year-2019 swift creates a new benchmark by a car brand.
India’s first premium hatchback, swift, has won hearts from the day it was first launched in May 2005. The third generation swift launched in the February 2018 retained the car’s symbolic character and carried forward its lineage of global design language.
The third generation new swift launched in February 2018 achieved the fastest 1,00,000 sales in 145 days of the launch standing testimony to its stronger connect with customers and its brand lineage. Also, the convenience of auto gear shift (AGS) offered in the latest swift model found quick acceptance and now contributes over 20 per cent of swift sales.
ICOTY award was introduced in India to evaluate cars on criteria of price, fuel-efficiency, styling, comfort, safety, performance, practicality, and technical innovation, value for money, and suitability and relevance to Indian driving conditions being particularly important factors in deciding the winner.
Owing to its distinctive appeal, swift has been recognized globally. It has received global recognition by winning good design award in 2017 operated by Japan Institute of Design Promotion and was amongst the three finalists at the ‘World Urban Car Of The Year 2018’.
