The passenger vehicle market leader has begun the four quarter of FY2025 on a strong note, following a tepid first quarter of FY2025, a 7% decline in Q2 and 6% growth in Q3. Expect sales numbers to improve in the coming months following the sizeable income-tax benefits proposed in Budget 2025-26.
01 Feb 2025 | 6741 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
Passenger vehicle market leader Maruti Suzuki India has announced its wholesales (dispatches to showroom) numbers for January 2025. At 173,599 vehicles, up 4% YoY (January 2024: 166,802 units), this constitutes its highest monthly dispatches in the first 10 months of FY2025 (see data table below), ahead of the festival-laden October ...
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Passenger vehicle market leader Maruti Suzuki India has announced its wholesales (dispatches to showroom) numbers for January 2025. At 173,599 vehicles, up 4% YoY (January 2024: 166,802 units), this constitutes its highest monthly dispatches in the first 10 months of FY2025 (see data table below), ahead of the festival-laden October 2024 (159,591 units).
The company had a tepid start to the fiscal year. While the first-quarter FY2025 (April- June 2024) at 414,055 units was a YoY increase of just 1%, Q2 FY2025 (July-September 2024) with 425,500 vehicles was down by a sharp 7% YoY. Q3 (October-December 2024) with 431,020 units dispatched to showrooms across India marked a revival of demand, up 6% YoY. Now, the first month of the fourth quarter is indicative that Maruti Suzuki will be pushing the wholesales envelope in the remaining months of this fiscal and in CY2025.
While the two budget hatchbacks – Alto and S-Presso – continue to feel the heat of slowed-down demand (14,247 units, down 11% YoY), demand has risen strongly for six-pack model range comprising the Wagon R, Baleno, new Swift, Celerio, Ignis hatchbacks and the Dzire sedan (82,241 units, up 7% YoY). The premium Ciaz sedan, with 768 units and 53% YoY growth is quite a surprise. Meanwhile, the Eeco van continues to soldier on albeit the 11,250 units are down 7% on year-ago sales. The UV portfolio comprising the Brezza, Ertiga, Fronx, Grand Vitara, Invicto, Jimny and XL6 sold 65,093 units, up 5% on a high year-ago base.
On the cumulative sales front, Maruti Suzuki’s UVs continue to buffer the sales decline in its passenger car and sedans. In the April 2024-January 2025 period, at 594,056 units, total SUV and MPV dispatches are up 12% YoY and have prevented the car and sedan sales – which are down by a high 9% at 741,707 units compared to 811,293 units a year ago – from dragging the company’s overall passenger vehicle sales into the red. The 14,49,233 units in the first 10 months of FY2025 make for flat sales, considering the company dispatched only an additional 2,341 units compared to 14,46,892 PVs in April 2023-January 2024.
Maruti Suzuki India, like the rest of the Indian automobile industry, will benefit from the substantial relief in income tax proposed in the Union Budget 2025-26. With zero income tax up to Rs 12 lakh, which translates into additional money available for vehicle purchase among other goods and services, expect the sales numbers for the PV market leader to improve in the coming months.