Maruti Suzuki sells more cars in August than in the same month of 2019

Maruti Suzuki on Tuesday reported that it had sold a total of 116,704 units in the domestic market last month which is significantly higher than the 94,728 units it had sold in August of 2019. These figures include passenger vehicles and its Super Carry LCV as well as units sold to other OEM.

The bulk of the thrust for Maruti Suzuki once again came from the mini and compact sub segments. The two accounted for a jump of 26.8% when figures from August of 2020 and 2019 are compared. It is interesting to note here that the S-Presso was only launched in September of last year and so, did not contribute to August 2019 figures.

Utility vehicles too fared better last month with the likes of the 2020 Vitara Brezza, the newly-launched 2020 S-Cross as well as the Ertiga and XL6 finding favour. The sub-segment saw an uptick of 13.5% last month when compared to the same month in 2019.

The mis-size sedan segment, however, remains muted for the country's largest car maker. While Hyundai's 2020 Verna and the fifth-generation City from Honda were launched earlier this month, the Ciaz has found the going tough in a segment which is struggling to gather pace. Just 1,223 units of the Ciaz were sold last month.

Maruti Suzuki also reported a fall of 15.3% in exports with 7,920 units shipped to other markets from here.

When all figures - domestic sales and exports - are combined, the prospect looks like it is improving with a rise of 17.1% last month in comparison to the same month in 2019.

Covid-19 and the subsequent developments have thrown up massive challenges for Maruti Suzuki as well as every other car maker - in India and globally. Yet, there is a sense of normalcy that appears to be gradually setting in and August figures could well underline this even as OEMs continue to focus on safety precautions and guidelines.