Maruti Suzuki's Small Car Sales Continue to Decline in February 2025

Maruti Suzuki India Limited, the country's largest automaker, reported total sales of 199,400 units in February 2025, marking a modest 1% growth compared to 197,471 units sold in the same month last year. This follows the company's record-breaking January performance when it achieved its highest-ever monthly sales of 212,251 units.

According to the company's press release, February's total sales comprised 163,501 units in domestic sales, 10,878 units to other OEMs, and 25,021 units in exports. The relatively flat growth in February contrasts with January's robust 6.46% year-on-year increase.

In the domestic passenger vehicle segment, Maruti Suzuki sold 160,791 units in February 2025, maintaining virtually the same level as the 160,271 units sold in February 2024. This stability comes despite significant shifts in consumer preferences across vehicle categories.

The utility vehicle segment continues to be a bright spot for the automaker, with sales reaching 65,033 units in February, up 6.2% from 61,234 units in the same month last year. Models like Brezza, Ertiga, Fronx, Grand Vitara, and others have maintained the momentum seen in January, when utility vehicle sales jumped to 70,305 units from 58,226 units year-on-year.

However, the mini segment, which includes the Alto and S-Presso, continued its downward trend with sales falling to 10,226 units in February 2025, a significant 30.8% decrease from 14,782 units in February 2024. This decline is consistent with the pattern observed in January, suggesting a sustained shift in consumer preference away from smaller vehicles.

Interestingly, the mid-size segment represented by the Ciaz showed remarkable growth, with sales more than doubling to 1,097 units in February 2025 from 481 units in February 2024. This mirrors the 53% growth for the Ciaz seen in January.

The compact segment, which includes popular models like Baleno, Swift, and WagonR, showed resilience with a slight increase to 72,942 units in February 2025 from 71,627 units in February 2024. This segment had performed strongly in January, with sales rising to 82,241 units from 76,533 units year-on-year.

A standout area for the company has been sales to other OEMs, which more than doubled to 10,878 units in February 2025 from 5,147 units in February 2024, continuing the growth trajectory seen in January's figures.

Export performance, however, presented a mixed picture. February exports declined by 13.5% to 25,021 units from 28,927 units in February 2024, contrasting with January's 13% export growth when the company shipped 27,100 units overseas.

Looking at the fiscal year to date (April 2024-February 2025), Maruti Suzuki has sold a total of 2,041,282 units, representing a 4.8% increase over the 1,948,127 units sold during the same period in the previous fiscal year.

Industry analysts note that while February's growth was more subdued compared to January's record performance, Maruti Suzuki continues to show resilience in a competitive market. The company's strategic focus on utility vehicles and premium offerings appears to be offsetting the declining mini-segment sales.

Investors will be watching closely to see if Maruti Suzuki can recapture January's momentum in the coming months as the fiscal year draws to a close.