Maruti Suzuki India domestic sales up 17 percent in November, exports up too

Maruti Suzuki India, always the first to reveal its monthly numbers on the first day of every month and the bellweather of the Indian automobile industry, has announced that it has posted a 17 percent growth in its November 2014 sales. During the month, the carmaker sold a total of 100,024 units (November 2013: 85,510).

The Ciaz sedan, launched in October 2014 and replaced the SX4 sedan, seems to have given a fillip to sales in the midsize sedan category selling 5,232 units, up 2,516 percent albeit on a low base of just 200 units a year ago.

In the entry level category, the Alto and Wagon R  sold a total of 37,746 units, pointing to flat sales of 0.8 percent (November 2013: 38,040).

The good numbers have come from the quartet of the Celerio, Swift, Swift hatchbacks and the Dzire sedan. They sold a total of 37,339 units, up 13.8 percent  (November 2013: 32,804). Meanwhile, the Dzire Tour, which is sold only as a taxi, notched a 229 percent year-on-year increase to 1,989 units  (November 2013: 604). As a result, total passenger car sales were up 14.9 percent to 82,306 units  (November 2013: 71,649).

In the UV segment, the popular Ertiga continues to drive sales and contributed the bulk of the 5,515 units sold last month – 5,515. However, overall this segment’s sales were down 5.6 percent  (November 2013: 5,840).

Vans, surprisingly, continues to do well on the sales front and the Eeco and the Omni sold a total of 12,203 units, up 52.1 percent  (November 2013: 8,021).

On the exports front, Maruti sold a total of 10,123 units, a growth of 52.7 percent (November 2013: 6,630).

Overall, the company’s November 2014 domestic and export numbers add up to 110,147 units, up 19.5 percent over the sales of 92,140 units in November 2013.