Maruti Suzuki India reported a 35% increase in retail sales between Ganesh Chaturthi and Dussehra, supported by demand for small cars and SUVs. While small-car retail grew around 16%, SUV retail doubled during the period, according to the country’s largest passenger vehicle manufacturer.
“The festive season has been encouraging for Maruti Suzuki, with strong customer demand through Navratri. Between Ganesh Chaturthi and Dussehra, our retail sales grew by 35%, with small-car retail increasing by around 16% and SUV retail doubling,” said Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer, Maruti Suzuki.
The company also reported an increase in pending bookings, which rose from approximately 2 lakh units at the beginning of October to 2.7 lakh units after Dussehra. This represents an addition of around 70,000 vehicles to its pending booking pipeline during the period.
“We began October with pending bookings of around 2 lakh units, which have increased to 2.7 lakh units after Dussehra. We are making every effort to maximise deliveries and serve our customers,” Banerjee said.
Despite the growth recorded between Ganesh Chaturthi and Dussehra, Maruti Suzuki’s retail sales during Navratri alone remained broadly unchanged from the corresponding period last year. The company expects demand to continue through the remaining festive celebrations.
“With this strong demand momentum, we expect the positive trend to continue and anticipate double-digit growth for the whole festive period till Diwali,” Banerjee said.
According to provisional data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), passenger vehicle registrations across India reached 1,82,728 units during Navratri 2026, an increase of 10.39% over the 1,65,534 units recorded during Navratri 2024. Compared with Navratri 2025, registrations declined 21.91% from 2,34,004 units. FADA noted that last year’s Navratri covered 11 days against ten days this year.
Overall automobile retail registrations stood at 11,23,086 units during Navratri 2026, growing 26.76% over the comparable 2024 period. Two-wheeler registrations increased 32.41% to 8,34,075 units, while commercial vehicle registrations rose 16.47% to 35,618 units. FADA’s figures represent industry-wide vehicle registrations, while Maruti Suzuki’s reported growth relates to its retail sales over a longer festive period.