The sluggish growth in the passenger car segment has not spared even the leading car manufacturer of India, Maruti Suzuki. The company recently disclosed its sales figures for November 2013, in which it recorded a 10.7 per cent decline in total sales as compared to the same period in 2012. Total sales during November 2013 stood at 92140 units as compared to the last year's figure of 103200.
On the other hand, domestic sales in November 2013 accounted for 85510 units, thereby registering a decline of 5.9 per cent from 90882 cars sold during same period last year. However, the small hatchback segment did manage to bring some cheers for the company as sales of cars like M800, Alto, A-Star and WagonR grew by 3.7 per cent at 38040 units in November 2013 as opposed to the 36679 sold last year.
In a statement, Maruti Suzuki said that the demand of compact hatchbacks including Swift, Estilo and Ritz stood at 18122 units as compared to the 23849 sold in the year-ago period, which depicts a decline of 24 per cent.
Maruti Suzuki's model in the entry-level sedan segment, DZire, continued its impressive run as sales grew by 13.2 per cent to 15286 units as against 13502 units in November last year. The biggest downfall came from the mid-size sedan segment as SX4 model only contributed 200 units in November 2013 as compared to the last year's figure of 692 units. As far as the premium sedan segment is concerned, Maruti Suzuki only managed to sell one unit of Kizashi.
In the utility vehicle segment, the demand for Ertiga, Grand Vitara and Gypsy stood at 5840 units as against 7439 units, which shows a fall by 21.5 per cent. Furthermore, the sales of Omni and Eeco combined were 8021 units, down by 7.3 per cent from the last year's figures of 8650. Apart from domestic sales, Maruti Suzuki also registered a steep fall of 46.2 per cent in exports as it exported 6630 units in November 2013 against the figures of 12318 for November 2012.
The disappointing show by Maruti Suzuki came on the back of a good October, during which the company performed really well. The festive season, which started from Navratras and ended on Diwali, saw Maruti Suzuki recorded a flat 10 per cent growth in retain volumes. Officials from Maruti Suzuki even told that this year's festive period ranks among the three top grossing seasons for the company till now. At that time, Maruti Suzuki claimed that models like Alto, WagonR, Swift and DZire were among the best sellers for the company.
Meanwhile, the leading car company is planning to introduce several new models in the Indian car market by 2014, which are expected further increase its share. According to sources, Maruti Suzuki is aiming to introduce new models in the hatchback, sedan and Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) segments. At the upcoming 2014 Auto Expo, Maruti Suzuki might throw a string of surprises as reports have indicated that some new models will be unveiled at the famous auto event.
