In October 2021, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. dispatched a total of 1,08,991 vehicles in the domestic market, registering a YoY sales decline of around 34 per cent
Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest car manufacturer, has released its sales figures for October 2021. The carmaker dispatched a total of 1,08,991 vehicles last month, not including sales to other OEMs (4,225 units). This is a nearly 34 per cent drop in sales on a Year-on-Year basis, with 1,63,656 units sold back in October 2020.
In September 2021, Maruti Suzuki’s sales figure stood at 63,111 units, which translates to a 73 per cent growth last month on a Month-on-Month basis. The Indo-Japanese manufacturer also lost a significant chunk of its market share – 7 per cent – down from 46.9 per cent in October 2020 to 39.9 per cent in October 2021.
One of the biggest reasons for the drop in sales is the global semiconductor shortage, due to which Maruti Suzuki had to limit the production of vehicles. The Indo-Japanese carmaker expects its woes to continue this month as well. The same problem is faced by other automakers as well, not just in India, but manufacturers all over the world.
The Diwali festive season has also rolled up this month, but with the continued production delays owing to the component shortages, the festive sales rush will likely remain muted. Maruti had upwards of 2 lakh pending orders before the end of October 2021, and that number could increase substantially following Diwali.
In other news, Maruti is planning to expand its CNG car lineup in India, with the launch of Swift CNG and Dzire CNG soon. The manufacturer hasn’t given any official word on the launch timeline yet, but speculations suggest that the vehicles would be introduced in the coming weeks. Other than that, the manufacturer has been developing two new SUVs for India – one compact and one midsize.
The compact SUV will be the next-generation Vitara Brezza, while the midsize SUV will serve as a replacement for the S-Cross. These will be launched under Toyota’s brand as well in our market. The two companies are also working on a new MPV, which will be positioned above the XL6 in Maruti’s range and below the Innova Crysta in Toyota’s range.
