Maruti foresees ongoing sales momentum and plans to increase car deliveries during the festive season

Maruti Suzuki anticipates a faster market growth, driven by strong demand for its models, particularly SUVs, as stated by a senior executive of the company. The auto major expects the passenger vehicle market to grow by 5-7% in this fiscal year. The PV industry is projected to reach 40.5-41.3 lakh units by the end of the current fiscal year, according to Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer (Marketing and Sales) at Maruti Suzuki India (MSI). Srivastava mentioned that the company’s growth in the first quarter was 12.2%, surpassing the industry’s growth of approximately 9.5%. He also expressed that although the volumes may remain stable due to strong bookings, the growth rate may be subdued due to the base effect. The second quarter of the previous year saw the highest sales in the history of PVs, resulting in Srivastava believing that expecting significantly higher growth in comparison would be unrealistic. Regarding Maruti Suzuki’s preparations for the upcoming festive season, Srivastava revealed that with the semiconductor shortage alleviating, the automaker aims to increase production and reduce waiting times for models such as Ertiga, Brezza, and XL6. The company currently has a pending booking backlog of around 3.62 lakh units. Looking ahead, Srivastava stated that by 2030, Maruti Suzuki envisions 15% electric, 25% hybrid, and 60% CNG, biogas, ethanol, blended gasoline vehicles in its portfolio. He added that the number of hybrid models is expected to increase in the future, with CNG and hybrid car sales potentially reaching the peak level of diesel sales in 2017-18, which stood at 4.8 lakh units.