Maruti Suzuki continues recovery process, small cars show the way in September

Maruti Suzuki on Thursday informed it had sold 160,442 units in September, a 30.8% growth over the same period in 2019. And once again, a positive demand for its smaller offerings are the main driving force in a market that is gradually recovering from the after-effects of the nation-wide lockdown to check the spread of Covid-19.

Maruti sold a total of 112,993 passenger vehicles last month, a 43.1 per cent rise over the same period in 2019. The company states that the performance has to be seen in the context of lower base of September 2019. The charge is predominantly led by offerings int he mini and compact sub segments. While the mini sub segment has Alto and S-Presso, cars offered in the compact sub segment include WagonR, Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno, Dzire and TourS.

A total of 27,246 units of Alto and S-Presso were sold last month, up from 20,085 in the same month of last year, although S-Presso was only launched on the last day of September 2019.

The company further sold 84,213 units of cars in the compact sub segment, a rise of 47.3% over figures from September 2019.

Utility vehicles like Ertiga, S-Crss, Vitara Brezza and XL6 have also fared better. A total of 23,699 units were sold last month, a 10.1 per cent year-on-year rise.

It is the mid-size sedan segment that continues to lag behind, much like previous months. 1,535 units of Ciaz were sold last month, down from 1,715 units sold in September 2019. The segment as a whole has been under tremendous pressure but Ciaz faces a whole lot of competition from the updated Verna from Hyundai and the fifth-generation Honda City.

Overall, Maruti Suzuki sold 160,442 (domestic plus exports) last month, a year-on-year rise of 30.8 per cent.