Maruti Suzuki eyes double-digit volume growth in FY25, says RC Bhargava

Even as the car market is estimated to grow at a low single digit, R C Bhargava, the chairman of Maruti Suzuki said the company will try to grow by double digits in FY-25.

Speaking to the media post FY-24 earnings call, Bhargava said, he is optimistic about the outlook for 24-25. He believed that the new government will have a very good base to grow from.

“One should see several measures taken by the new government which will propel the economy and industry forward at a much faster pace than in the past. The market will be optimistic, people will be willing to buy a car. The inflation is going to be under control in FY-25, that will possibly lead to a reduction in interest rates in the second half of the year, that may give further boost to the demand,” he asserted.

This optimistic commentary comes from the chairman of the largest car maker in India at a time, when the industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers had guided for a sub-5% growth for the current financial year.

Many experts also claimed that the market is likely to witness disruption due to elections, which may slow down the growth on a very high base of 4.23 million units. 

“I am optimistic about FY-25, because I am optimistic about India, I have to be optimistic about the car industry. We will know, how much my optimism is valid in a few months’ time.”

“SIAM is forecasting a much lower growth, because high growth of last year and a high base, but I think, if the condition could become better, Maruti at least will be in a position to get if not double-digit growth but very close to double-digit growth in the coming year. We should try and aim for that,” added Bhargava.

In 2023-24, Maruti Suzuki saw its total volume grow 8.6% on year to 2.14 million units. This helped the company post record net sales and net profit for the year. Net sales totaled Rs 1,34,937.8 crore with a growth of 20 percent on year while net profit jumped 64 percent to Rs 13,209.4 crore.

Hisashi Takeuchi, MD of Maruti Suzuki in his address said, “We finished the last financial year with everything in a very good and positive result and we are very happy about it. So, this year, while there will be some challenges ahead of us, but we still would like to maintain this momentum and we would like to push the sales forward.”