The Suzuki Alto proved to be the king of small cars in India and is emerging to be a popular choice in other Asian markets. We still have to see how the Tata Nano will fare but as of now, it’s the Alto.

Nissan will benefit from Suzuki-Nissan model swapping as they are now planning tohave their own version of the Alto to be launched as the entry-level model below the Micra. And we’ll see it all debuted in the Paris Motor Show this October.

The Alto will most likely be a small five-door hatch powered by a 1.0L gas engine. Like the Alto, this new Nissan will be sourced from India. With the launch of the Nano just around the corner, there might just be a mad scramble for developing cheap small city cars.

Suzuki is also planning to have the new Alto-replacement, the A-Star (pictured), ready by next year.

Source: Autocar

Suzuki may be a Japanese name but some of their cars are actually made in India. And for some reason, India seems to be the place for small compact cars destined for the growing markets of Asia (India and China) particularly. The Nano is nearing its debut and the competition for sub-1000 cc cars will surely be intense.

Suzuki has its compact in the Alto but they now have scheduled the debut for its replacement – the A-star. Uh yeah. I don’t know if this is a localized marketing strategy but the “Alto” name seems to be a lot better than “A-star.” And as a replacement, it surely has a lot of expectations to live up to since the Alto made a killing in India sales.

Versus the Nano, it might offer motorists a bit more performance since the A-star will have a 1000cc engine instead of that wee 600cc one in the Nano. What I’ll be interested in though, will be the price. The Alto currently retails at around six times what the Nano’s slated MSRP is ($2500).

As for sales elsewhere, Suzuki will be bringing the car to Europe but not in the US.

Source: Automotive Blog