Amid challenging market environment, Maruti Suzuki India and Mahindra & Mahindra reported an increase in vehicle dispatches to dealers last month while Tata Motors and Hyundai saw a year-on-year drop in sales.
India may see its busiest EV festive season in 2025 with SUVs, luxury cars and scooters set to launch, but rare-earth supply bottlenecks risk delaying rollouts.
Among the key concerns of the Street is market share losses in growth segments, led by higher competitive pressures.
Maruti Suzuki India on Wednesday reported a 42 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,671 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2023, driven by higher sales, improved realisation and favourable forex movement. The country's largest carmaker logged a net profit of Rs 1,876 crore in the January-March of 2021-22. Net sales during the fourth quarter rose to Rs 32,060 crore compared to Rs 26,749 crore in the year-ago period, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a regulatory filing.
Former managing director of Maruti Suzuki India, Jagdish Khattar, passed away on Monday morning following a cardiac arrest, according to people close to him. Khattar (79), a former bureaucrat, was considered as one of the most high profile leaders of the Indian automotive industry, laying the foundation for Maruti's future growth after the government began its disinvestment in 2002 and gradually exited from its joint venture with Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC). He had joined the then Maruti Udyog Ltd in July 1993 as director (marketing) and went on to become executive director (marketing) in the next six years.
Maruti Suzuki growing in double-digits; Suzuki's Japan Q1 top line rose only 1%.
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Monday said it has increased prices of its entire product range, except Celerio, by up to 1.9 per cent with immediate effect. In a regulatory filing, the company noted that it has taken the decision to hike prices due to an increase in various input costs. The weighted average price rise in ex-showroom prices (New Delhi) across select models is 1.9 per cent, it added. This is MSI's third price hike this year.
Concerned over sales growth coming mainly from two of its models - Dzire and Swift - country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India said unless its other products contribute equally the company could face problems in the long-term.
Speaking after the meeting, Maruti Suzuki chairman R C Bhargava said the company will export 'Baleno' at the moment
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Wednesday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 475 crore for the first quarter ended June 30. The auto major had posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 268 crore in the April-June quarter of 2020-21. It noted that during the first quarter its sales and production were adversely impacted due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The slowdown in growth is an industry-wide trend and companies are adjusting production to bring down the inventory levels at plants as well as dealerships.
Set to be unveiled at the Auto Expo in New Delhi, it is likely to be priced below Rs 400,000, and will come with air-conditioning and the option to choose from six colours.
MSI sells a range of models from entry-level hatchback Alto to S-CROSS, priced between Rs 2.99 lakh and Rs 12.39 (ex-showroom prices Delhi) lakh, respectively.
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) witnessed a 3 per cent drop in production last month. In a regulatory filing, the auto major reported total production of 145,560 units in November compared to 150,221 units in November 2020. "The shortage of electronic components had a minor impact on the production of vehicles during the month," it noted.
In the domestic market, the car has been well accepted and currently the company has over 80,000 bookings for the model.
The automobile sector has started seeing volume growth, the crucial economy segment included. Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) could be a big beneficiary as the country's largest passenger vehicle (PV) maker has seen several favourable developments including volume recovery. Demand for its new sports utility vehicles (SUVs) appears to be good, and the company has 4 lakh outstanding orders by April 2023, (up from 3.6 lakhs in January 2023). Siam (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) estimates that passenger vehicle demand would grow by 5-7 per cent in the 2023-24 financial year (FY24) and MSIL is likely to beat the market growth.
Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) has ambitious plans to increase capacity. It is also seeking shareholders' approval for a complex swap transaction, which would acquire Suzuki Motor Gujarat (SMG), a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) through a preferential offer. SMC already holds 56.37 per cent of MSIL's equity.
Japan is expected to increase its investment target in India from the earlier 5 trillion yen ($34 billion) to almost 10 trillion yen.
The proposed reforms in goods and services tax (GST) announced by the government last week, coupled with the eighth pay commission dole-out, is likely to push consumption-driven stocks - such as air conditioners (ACs), select automobiles, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), retail, and counters of quick-service restaurants (QSRs) - into higher orbit over the next few months, believe analysts.
MSI's exports increased by 54.34 per cent to 14,386 units in January, from 9,321 units in the year-ago period.
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In May, MSI recorded domestic sales at 89,478 units, compared to 93,519 units in the year-ago period, registering a fall of 4.32 per cent.
The company's earlier highest for total and domestic sales stood at 1,21,952 units and 1,10,424 units respectively in March 2011.
Maruti's strategy for the SUV segment is to arrest the decline in customers for entry level hatchbacks.
The edge that Maruti Suzuki enjoys over Hyundai and other rivals stem primarily from its gigantic scale, reports Ajay Modi.
The company also recorded its highest-ever annual sales in 2008-09 at 792,167 units as against 764,842 units in the previous fiscal, a rise of 3.57 per cent. The previous highest annual sales were in 2007-08. '2008-09 marked Maruti Suzuki's silver jubilee year in India. Over these 25 years, the company sold over 70 lakh cars in the domestic market. Additionally, over 5 lakh cars have been exported the world over,' Maruti Suzuki India said in a statement.
Maruti is not an online outlier, of course; other heavyweights have rolled out similar services. But as an analyst pointed out, Maruti's all-India roll-out has significant impact given that it accounts for over half of all cars sold, reports, reports Pavan Lall.
Long standing number two passenger vehicle maker in India, Hyundai Motor India, has slipped to fourth position in the domestic market in terms of retail sales last month behind Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors, as per the latest data shared by dealer's body FADA. Hyundai Motor India clocked retail sales of 38,156 units last month, a dip of 20 per cent as compared with 47,540 units in February last year.
High price, combined with the decision to go only for diesel and position it as a crossover, resulted in its limited success
With the government not continuing with lower excise duty beyond December 31, major car makers, including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, GM India and Honda have raised vehicle prices by up to Rs 127,000.
Domestic passenger vehicle wholesales were down 0.8 per cent at 3,44,656 units in May this year as compared to 3,47,492 units in the same month last year, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said on Monday.
"Export will not be better in this fiscal. It will remain more or less the same as last year or may be even worse. Situation in many global markets has not improved yet," Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Chairman R C Bhargava said on the sidelines of Hero Mindmine Summit.
Priced at Rs 754,689, this is the sixth model from the company's portfolio after Alto, WagonR, Swift, Baleno and Dzire to be BS-VI compliant.
Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor India on Monday reported a dip in passenger vehicle dispatches to dealers in the domestic market last month as the companies tried to adjust vehicle inventory amid slowing demand. Maruti Suzuki India said it "calibrated supplies" to the dealers, aligning with the industry's retail sales projections amid India-Pakistan conflict and a dip in sales of entry-level cars.
Maruti Suzuki is planning a medium term invement of Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion), part of which will be utilised to build five vehicle stock yards in the country within one to two years, a senior executive said.
Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India's July sales remained almost flat at 58,543 units as against 57,909 units in the same month last year.
'The reported deal between the European Union and China should mitigate it (shortage) for the medium to long term. Let's wait and watch how this plays out.'
Maruti Suzuki, India's biggest carmaker, reported a 36 per cent rise in third-quarter net profit, matching estimates, as favourable foreign exchange movement and cost reduction efforts offset falling sales.
MSI is also looking to produce one million vehicles by the end of this fiscal.
Maruti Suzuki India on Tuesday said it has commenced export of its sports utility vehicle Fronx to Japan. The first consignment of over 1,600 vehicles left for Japan from Gujarat's Pipavav port, the country's largest carmaker said in a statement. Fronx will be the first SUV from Maruti Suzuki stable to be launched in Japan, it added.