Maruti Suzuki India cruises past the 20 million sales mark  

Maruti Suzuki India, India’s leading passenger vehicle maker, has reached a key milestone of 20 million passenger vehicle cumulative sales in the Indian market, 37 years after it began selling cars in December 1983. The company rolled out its first car – the iconic Maruti 800 – on December 14, 1983.

While the first 10 million sales took around 29 years, the next 10 million PVs were sold in a record period of eight years, with the last 5 million coming in just three years, making it the sole Indian carmaker to clock 20 million sales. To put it succinctly, Maruti put the country on wheels.  

FY1995: 1 million
FY2006: 5 million
FY2012: 10 million
FY2017: 15 million
FY2020: 20 million

Kenichi Ayukawa, MD and CEO, Maruti Suzuki India said, “Achieving this milestone is a great accomplishment for Maruti Suzuki, as well as our suppliers and dealer partners. We are thankful for immense trust placed in us by the customers, longlasting partnerships with our stakeholders as well as the support extended by the government. Maruti Suzuki was incorporated with a mission to put India on wheels, where every Indian family could fulfil its dream of owning a car, which we continue to work towards.”

He added, “We are committed to bring value to the lives of our customers and delight them through our global technologies, and emphasis on safety and superior quality. This is complemented by an extensive sales and aftersales service network. While Maruti Suzuki continues to contribute to the Indian economy and create employment opportunities across the value chain, the company is committed to give back to the society. Maruti Suzuki continuously invests in CSR activities in the areas of community development (health, education, water and sanitation, infrastructure), road safety and skill development.”

In line with the government’s goal for environment care and lower pollution. Maruti Suzuki has introduced factory fitted CNG vehicles as well as Smart Hybrid vehicles, in addition to eight BS VI models rolled out much ahead of the stipulated timelines. Along with its parent, Suzuki Motor Corporation, it plans to introduce a small EV for the Indian market. Currently it is road testing 50 EV prototypes across the country to check their real-life performance in multiple terrains and varied climatic conditions.

The 20 million domestic market sales landmark comes a year and a half after the 20 million production milestone was achieved. 

20 million production milestone in 34 years, 5 months
On June 4, 2018, Maruti Suzuki India had crossed the 20 million unit production landmark. Of the 20 million units, the Alto was the most produced model with approximately 3.17 million units. The landmark 20-millionth model is a Swift hatchback produced at SMC's Gujarat Plant .

Start of production: December 1983
1 million units: March 1994
5 million units: April 2005
10 million units: March 2011
15 million units: May 2015
20 million units: June 2018

Top 5 models in 20 million produced
Maruti Alto: 3.17 million
Maruti 800: 2.91 million
Maruti Wagon R: 2.13 million
Maruti Omni: 1.94 million
Maruti Swift: 1.94 million

Maruti Suzuki India remains the PV market leader and in the ongoing fiscal has a 49.60% market share. New entrants in the Indian PV market, particularly the SUV market, have seen Maruti's share fall below the 50% mark after a long time. Hyundai Motor India, the No. 2 player has an 18% market share.

As India Auto Inc readies to enter 2020, a year which will see stringent BS VI emission norms come into force, Maruti Suzuki will also exit making diesel engine cars, a move which will see some of its popular cars being impacted, much to the glee of the competition. But the company is known to be a fighter, so expect it to come with up with some surprises. 

Also read: Suzuki boss: ‘Maintaining a 50 percent market share in India will be a big challenge.’

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