Maruti Suzuki market share zooms in times of demonetisation
NEW DELHI: In a month when
most car makers took a hit on account of the government’s demonetisation move, Maruti
Suzuki reported a robust jump in wholesale volumes to corner 52%
of the Indian passenger
vehicle market. The company’s market share had stood at 46.7% in the year-ago period and at 44% in
October 2016.
In November, Maruti Suzuki grew passenger vehicle
sales by 14.1% to 1,26,220 units. Challenges in cash availability affected
consumer sentiment across manufacturers with passenger vehicle sales inching up
by around 2.6% to 2,42,700 units in November. The numbers are wholesale
dispatches made to dealerships and do not reflect demand at the retail level.
Industry insiders
said barring some major manufacturers who have order backlog on new products,
for most companies, retail sales have dropped by 30-50%. A senior industry
executive who did not wish to be quoted said: “Car makers who have pending
orders managed to increase wholesale volumes.
Maruti Suzuki has a waiting period of up to six
months on Baleno and Brezza. At present, consumers are not cancelling existing
orders but taking time in deliveries.”
Fresh purchase decisions are also being postponed
as disruption in the status quo has affected consumer sentiments. Car makers
across the industry are doling out promotional offers and building awareness
around use of digital wallets, cheques, credit and debit cards to facilitate
cashless transactions.
Maruti Suzuki has maintained it is not expecting
any long-term dent on sales because of demonetisation and the resultant cash
crunch, as 85-90% of the purchases are funded by loans.
“For Maruti Suzuki, more than 50% of their sales
are coming from models such as Ciaz, Ertiga, Baleno and Brezza, which are in high demand. Their
product mix and technology offerings, such as mild hybrids and AMT, are strong.
This has cushioned the impact," said Puneet Gupta, associate director at
analytics firm IHS Markit.
Source : Maruti
Suzuki market share zooms in times of demonetisation