Passenger vehicle market leader registers 21% YoY growth; while the Baleno, Celerio, Dzire, Ignis, Swift, Tour S and Wagon R have done the heavy lifting in terms of numbers, its UVs are seeing strong demand.
01 Apr 2023 | 6575 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s passenger vehicle market leader, has reported total sales of 16,06,870 units or 1.6 million units, which marks a 21% year-on-year increase (FY2022: 13,31,558). The company would have logged additional sales if it weren’t for production being intermittently disrupted during the fiscal due to supply chain ...
This is an Autocar Pro Plus article. Subscribe to continue reading.
Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s passenger vehicle market leader, has reported total sales of 16,06,870 units or 1.6 million units, which marks a 21% year-on-year increase (FY2022: 13,31,558). The company would have logged additional sales if it weren’t for production being intermittently disrupted during the fiscal due to supply chain issues specific to electronic components.
A close look at 10-year sales data reveals that while Maruti Suzuki’s FY2023 sales have bettered FY2022 (13,31,558), FY2021 (12,93,840) and FY2020 (14,16,450), they are still below that of FY2018 (16,43,467) and 122,956 units less than the best-ever sales of 17,29,826 units in FY2019.
Of its 16-model portfolio, the company saw the highest growth in its utility vehicles comprising the Brezza, Ertiga, S-Cross, XL6 and the recently launched Grand Vitara. Total UV sales at 366,129 units were 75,428 units more than FY2022’s 290,701 units and were a YoY increase of 26%. Like other OEMs, Maruti Suzuki is also surfing the wave of demand for SUVs and MPVs. This is set to rise with the launch of the Jimny five-door and the Fronx SUVs.
Proof that demand for entry-level models is yet to perk up is the sales of the Alto and S-Presso: 232,911 units, up 10% YoY (FY2022: 211,762). While both models are seeing increased customer interest, following the launch of the CNG variant of the S-Presso in October 2022 and the third-generation Alto K10 in November, Maruti Suzuki would prefer some acceleration in sales of these mass-market models.
It would have no such issue with the Eeco van which, with 131,191 units, posted 21% growth (FY2022: 108,345). The premium Ciaz sedan though remains a concern – the carmaker sold 2,259 fewer units in FY2023: a total of 13,610 versus FY2022’s 15,869 units.
With its cumulative sales of 1.6 million PVs, Maruti Suzuki remains the unrivalled market leader but with an estimated order backlog of 380,000 PVs and a hugely competitive marketplace, the company will have to put its shoulder to the production wheel.
ALSO READ:
Maruti Suzuki retains top car exporter title in FY2023, exports surpass 2.5 million units
Maruti Suzuki’s Nexa records 2 million sales, Baleno commands 62% share