Putting The Swift On The Map Of India

Maruti Suzuki and ICOTY’s partnering publications undertook a unique journey to celebrate the swift’s hat-trick at the ICOTY awards

Back in the early 2000s, a car called the Swift came along and added a new dimension to the hatchback world. It gave birth to the premium-hatchback genre, and there was a hatchback that everyone wanted to upgrade to. The latter was an unknown phenomenon since a hatchback was usually the first car an individual would buy before upgrading to something larger. But the Swift established the idea that you could have the convenience and ease of use of a hatchback, with the level of luxury and safety that a sedan offered back then. That ability made it an instant hit with the people.

Around the same time, the guild of Indian automotive journalists coined the Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) award, which is today the most prestigious automotive award in the country with a jury panel comprising of some of the best and most experienced automotive journalists from India. In 2005, the Swift’s facets had not only made it desirable and a household name, but it also became the first car ever to win the ICOTY award. It did not stop at that. The model that followed in 2012, was an instant success too, setting new benchmarks and becoming an ICOTY award winner. Over the years that followed, the ICOTY award has been getting even tougher to win with cars of all makes and sizes competing so closely with each other and setting new standards. But the third-generation Swift came along and literally swept away the 2019 ICOTY as swiftly as its name, and that too by a huge margin of points over the other contenders.

How does the swift do it?