Despite slowing sales of its entry level hatchbacks, the country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India today reported a 16 percent year-on-year (YoY) rise in domestic sales to 117,045 units during April, thanks to its expanding footprint in the premium car segment.

During the first month of the new fiscal the carmaker the entry level duo of the Alto and Wagon R sold 31,906 units, down 10 percent (April 2015: 35,403), the compact car quintet of the Swift, Ritz, Dzire, Celerio and Baleno sold 45,700 units, up 8 percent (April 2015: 42,297).

Demand for the premium Ciaz sedan continued to rise, having sold 5,702 units, up 22.3 percent (April 2015: 4,662). With this, cumulative Ciaz sales have reached a total of 92,284 units since the car's launched in August 2014.  

The recently launched Vitara Brezza compact SUV provided a big fillip to the company’s UV sales in April as cumulative numbers (including Gypsy, Ertiga, S-Cross and Vitara Brezza) rose over 260 percent year on year to 16,044 units (April 2015: 4,452 units). The vans segment also continued to post double-digit growth with sales of 14,520 units, up 20.3 percent.

Despite a strong domestic performance, Maruti Suzuki India's exports dipped 13.7 percent during the month to 9,524 units (April 2015: 11,039 units). Given the fall in exports, the carmaker’s total sales growth was capped at 13.3 percent, with total sales of 126,569 units (April 2015: 111,748). 

Also read: Maruti Suzuki’s Q4 profit dips 12% on production loss, higher costs