Did Maruti Deliberately Reduce Its Sales In September? Car Manufacturer's Strategic Move Revealed

Maruti Suzuki Sales: Maruti Suzuki reported a decline in wholesales in September as the company curtailed dispatches to dealers to reduce inventory build-up amid a decline in demand.

Maruti Suzuki Sales In September 2024: Maruti Suzuki reported a decline in wholesales in September as the company curtailed dispatches to dealers to reduce inventory build-up amid a decline in demand. Maruti Suzuki India reported a 4 per cent dip in total domestic passenger vehicle wholesales last month to 1,44,962 units compared to 1,50,812 units in the year-ago month.

The auto major said sales of mini segment cars, comprising Alto and S-Presso, grew marginally to 10,363 units against 10,351 units in September 2023. Sales of compact cars, including Baleno, Celerio, Dzire, Ignis, Swift, and WagonR; however, declined to 60,480 units compared to 68,551 units in the year-ago month.

Utility vehicles, consisting of Brezza, Ertiga, S-Cross, and XL6, sales grew 4 per cent to 61,549 units last month from 59,272 units earlier. Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Senior Executive Officer (Marketing & Sales) Partho Banerjee said the company has been reducing the dispatches to re-calibrate the inventory at the dealer level to match with the market demand.

He noted that the industry is looking at single-digit growth this year, following the high base of the last year and lack of pent-up demand. "As for us, we are witnessing good traction in the number of bookings...We are going to see some growth in the festive season," he said.

Banerjee said the company has posted record wholesale of 10.63 lakh units in the first half of the fiscal (April-September period). "In the domestic market, we have dispatched 8,61,045, export sales were 1,48,276, and sales to the other OEM was 54,097," he added.

In the first half, the company has sold 2,94,207 CNG vehicles, which contributes to 34.1 per cent of the auto major's overall sales. Every third car sold from the Maruti portfolio is CNG now, he said.

"We are on our target to achieve 6 lakh CNG vehicle sales in this fiscal year," Banerjee said.