Maruti Suzuki's mini-car sales jump 147% in April-May as production eases

Maruti Suzuki India has reported a remarkable 147 per cent surge in mini-car sales during April-May 2026, driven by the easing of production constraints and a significant increase in demand for its compressed natural gas vehicles amidst rising fuel prices.

Maruti Suzuki India has reported a sharp rebound in mini-car sales in the first two months of FY27 as easing production constraints improved vehicle availability, while rising fuel prices have driven a surge in demand for compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles.

Sales in the mini segment, comprising Alto and S-Presso, jumped 147 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to 32,341 units in April-May 2026 from 13,108 units a year earlier.

The growth follows production constraints that had weighed on volumes during the fourth quarter of FY26, according to the company.

Strong Performance Across Segments

The country's largest carmaker also reported strong growth in May.

Sales in the mini segment surged 140 per cent to 16,275 units from 6,776 units a year earlier, while sales in the compact and mid-size passenger car segment, which includes models such as WagonR,

Swift, Baleno and Dzire, increased 32 per cent to 81,555 units from 61,960 units.

The momentum follows a strong April, when mini-segment sales jumped nearly 154 per cent to 16,066 units from 6,332 units a year earlier, while compact and mid-size car sales rose 30 per cent to 80,659 units from 61,912 units.

Passenger car sales crossed 96,000 units in April and remained above 97,000 units in May.

"We have been repeatedly saying that there is a huge market for small cars, but we were having production constraints in the fourth quarter of last financial year.

"Had we had that production capacity, we could have done more numbers compared to the fourth quarter," Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer, marketing and sales, Maruti Suzuki India, told Business Standard.

According to Banerjee, dealer inventory for small cars had fallen to nearly three days in December, after which virtually all production was absorbed by the market.

Capacity Expansion and CNG Demand

Maruti has been ramping up manufacturing capacity, including commissioning the second plant at its Kharkhoda facility in Haryana.

The facility adds annual production capacity of 250,000 units, taking total capacity at Kharkhoda to 500,000 units.

Banerjee said the company is leveraging flexible manufacturing lines across plants to optimise production based on demand. As production of models such as the Brezza shifts to Kharkhoda, capacity becomes available at existing facilities such as Manesar.

This is enabling the company to increase output of other vehicles, including small cars.

At the same time, the company is witnessing a sharp increase in demand for CNG-powered vehicles amid rising fuel costs.

"CNG vehicle demand is continuously going up. We are seeing consistently that bookings have gone up, and after the announcement of Modi ji, we are seeing almost 1.4-times increase in the CNG bookings," Banerjee said.

He said around 40 per cent of small-car sales now comprise CNG variants, while WagonR's CNG mix is close to 50 per cent.

Market Outlook and First-Time Buyers

The company is also seeing healthy booking momentum despite concerns around fuel-price increases.

Banerjee said bookings for small cars have risen by around 40 per cent, while Maruti's overall order book stands at around 150,000 units.

The automaker is receiving about 10,000 bookings a day across its entire portfolio, while dealer inventory remains at around 17 days.

However, Banerjee stopped short of projecting strong double-digit growth for the small-car segment in FY27, citing uncertainty arising from fuel-price increases linked to the continuing West Asia conflict.

"This fuel-price increase has a huge impact on automobile sales.

"Obviously, one headwind has come in the form of the Iran war," he said.

Maruti's first-time buyer base has also expanded, with the share of such customers rising to 47 per cent from 41 per cent earlier, according to the company.

Banerjee said the trend reflects a continuing "helmet-to-seat-belt" migration as two-wheeler owners upgrade to passenger vehicles.