Maruti Suzuki’s June Sales Beat Estimates, Register 33% Growth

India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki registered 33.5% sales growth in the month of June 2014. The company sold 1,12,773 cars, higher than some analysts’ expectations of about 100,000 units. It has sold 84,455 cars in the corresponding month last year.

In terms of exports, the passenger car manufacturer witnessed 58.4% growth in sales to 11,809 units as compared to 7,453 units in the same month last year.

The sales of the small car segment, including Alto 800, Wagon R and A-Star, went up by 52.1% to 47,618 units as compared to 31,314 units in the year-ago period. On the other hand, the sales of the compact hatchbacks, comprising of Swift, Estilo, Celerio, and Ritz, grew by 6.2% to 22,293 units in the month, as compared to 20,996 units in the same month last year.

The sales of Maruti’s compact sedan DZire increased by 27.4% at 15,990 units up against 12,548 units during the same time in 2013. Notably, minimal growth of 2.5% at 322 units was registered in its only C-segment sedan SX4 in comparison to 314 units sold in June 2013. The premium sedan- Kizashi on the other hand, failed to attract any of the buyers in the country.

Looking at the growth pattern of the utility vehicle (UV) segment, that includes Gypsy, Grand Vitara and the Ertiga, the sales grew marginally at 5,003 units in June this year as compared to 4,997 units last year. Interestingly, many customers have opted for Omni and Eeco, as the two vans outperformed in the month with 9,738 units in June this year as compared to 6,833 units last year. This resulted in 42.5% of hefty growth.

It is important to note that excise duty for small cars (under 4m), which have the largest share in sales, continues to remains at 8%, SUVs carry 24%, while 20% duties are applied on the big cars. (Image: Wikipedia)