SUV sales save the blushes for Maruti Suzuki in October

Contrary to expectations that festive demand would drive a sales surge for its models, Maruti Suzuki India has seen marginal sales growth of 2.2% in October 2016 with total domestic sales of 123,764 units (October 2015: 121,063).

Clearly, the manufacturing capacity crunch at its Gurgaon and Manesar plants as well as demand for rival products, which attractive discounts on offer, have taken their toll on the sales performance of the country's largest carmaker.

The bread-and-butter duo of the Alto and Wagon R sold a total of 33,929 units, down 9.8% year on year (October 2015: 37,595). Meanwhile, the Swift/Ritz/Celerio/Baleno/Dzire quintet sold a total of 50,116 units last month, down 1.8% (October 2015: 51,048).

Demand for the Dzire Tour taxi was also down at 2,481 units, down 27.4% (October 2015: 3,418).

The premium Ciaz sedan though saw 8% year-on-year growth with 6,360 cars going home to new buyers last month (October 2015: 5,890).

Overall, the company’s passenger cars sold a total of 92,886 units, down 5.2% year on year (October 2015: 97,951).

Vitara Brezza continues to pack a punch

What helped Maruti Suzuki was the surging demand for the popular Vitara Brezza which, along with the Gypsy, Ertiga and S-Cross, sold 18,008 units, a 90.9% year-on-year increase (October 2015: 9,435).

In the case of the Vitara Brezza SUV, the current waiting period is a uniform 6 months across variants. Earlier the top-end ZDi and ZDi+ trims, which are very popular with buyers, had a waiting period of close to 9 months. The reduction in the waiting period is due to Maruti Suzuki ramping up capacity to 9,000-10,000 units per month for the Vitara Brezza at the Gurgaon plant and to 11,000-12,000 units a month for the premium Baleno hatchback at Manesar. 

The Omni and Eeco vans, which typically post decent growth, saw demand slide 6.5% to 12,790 units (October 2015: 13,677).

The Super Carry LCV, which was launched on September 1, sold 80 units in October. 

Maruti Suzuki’s exports too have taken a hit in October 2016, with total despatches to overseas markets totaling 10,029 units, down 23.7% (October 2015: 13,146). What’s clear is that the carmaker has given preference to production for the domestic market in view of the festive demand for its cars.

All put together, the carmaker's domestic and exports add up to 133,793 units in October 2016, pointing to flat growth (-0.3%).

Given the considerable demand for key models like the Baleno and the Vitara Brezza, Maruti Suzuki will be eagerly looking forward to the opening of the new Gujarat plant in early 2017. This will help free up capacity and give the stretched-for-capacity manufacturer new dynamics of production.