Maruti Suzuki, traditionally known for compact cars, has emerged as a strong contender in the SUV market, doubling its market share to 20% in 2023. Despite Mahindra’s robust SUV portfolio, Maruti’s strategic launch of four SUVs in the past two years, including the Fronx, Jimny, and Grand Vitara, has significantly boosted its domestic SUV sales.
Maruti Suzuki reported a year-on-year growth of 24% in domestic SUV sales, while Mahindra & Mahindra experienced a higher growth rate of 39%. Mahindra, known for its SUVs like the Thar, Scorpio and XUV, had several months of record sales in 2023, with a monthly sales growth ranging from 20% to 57%.
SUV sales have made up a larger portion of Maruti's domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales this fiscal year, increasing to 36% in 2023 from 22% in 2022. In contrast, almost all of Mahindra's PV sales are from SUVs.
However, Maruti's sales of small cars, such as the Alto and Baleno, have decreased by 29%. This decline is partly due to Maruti's decision to moderate wholesales. Tata Motors reported an 8% growth in domestic PV sales but did not provide growth rates for different car categories.
Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive of Marketing and Sales at Maruti Suzuki, in an interview with CNBC-TV18, attributed this success to the company’s strategic focus on the SUV segment.
Maruti Suzuki managed to cross the annual sales milestone of 20 lakh units in 2023, despite just a 1.3% decrease in total auto sales in December. Interestingly, urban growth surpassed rural growth for the first time in several months, standing at 12.10%.
The company’s overall market share in 2023 was 41.7%, a slight increase from the previous year's 41.5%. The automaker's growth outpaced the industry average, as Maruti Suzuki recorded a growth rate of 8.4%, slightly higher than the industry’s 8.3%.
Srivastava said, “For the industry year 2023, with about 41.1 lakh sale, is a pretty high base. Our research shows that on this high base, you will see the growth levels next year to be slightly muted. So I would expect a single-digit growth over this year for next year.”
Looking ahead, Maruti Suzuki has ambitious plans for the fast-growing SUV segment. According to media reports, the company intends to introduce a small SUV and a large, three-row SUV in the next two to three years to further strengthen its presence in this segment.
However, the competition is intensifying with new launches from competitors. For instance, Tata Motors is anticipated to launch the Tata Punch EV and Tata Harrier/Safari EVs in 2024. The company, in line with the global trend towards electric vehicles, is also set to debut its first-born EV SUV based on the eVX in late 2024.
These new additions to Maruti Suzuki’s portfolio are likely to help the company achieve its target of a 50% market share in the passenger vehicle market by 2025. The SUV segment, which accounted for 48% of overall passenger vehicle sales in 2023 with around 2 million units delivered, is expected to surpass 50% in 2024.
Srivastava concluded the interview by emphasizing the significant retail market share Maruti Suzuki commands. In December alone, the company's retail market share exceeded 50%, indicating strong consumer demand and confidence in the brand.
Maruti Suzuki manufactures hatchbacks like Alto, Wagon R, Celerio, Ritz, Swift, Baleno, and Ignis. The sedans include the Dzire and the Ciaz, while the utility vehicles (UVs) include Gypsy, Ertiga, Vitara Brezza, S-Cross, Omni, and Eeco.
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(Edited by : Vivek Dubey)
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