It’s been forty years since the first Maruti Suzuki 800 rolled off the assembly line in December 1983. Since then the company has gone on to sell several million cars, establishing a dominant position in the small car space, and in the past few years, it has now also taken the No. 1 spot among compact SUVs. The company has sold over 26 million vehicles in this time.
For years it dominated the entry-level car segment, garnering over 50% market share for some years. However, over the past few years buyer behaviour has changed with consumers now looking at larger cars with easier access to credit and income levels rising. Three of the top five cars sold are still Maruti Suzuki vehicles – The Maruti WagonR, the Swift, and the Dzire. But the good old Alto 800 (which was in spirit the replacement for the Maruti 800) has been discontinued, while its 1-litre version, the K10, isn’t selling in as much volume.
Speaking exclusively to FinancialExpress.com, Shashank Srivastava, senior executive officer, sales and marketing, Maruti Suzuki India says the buyer is evolving. “This is how the auto industry of the country progresses. As the economy grows there is a change in the consumer mindset, and that mindset change along with the volume change, reflects in the choice consumers make for their cars.”
The company has also managed to dominate the SUV space with four product offerings straddling segments – Maruti Suzuki Brezza, Fronx, Grand Vitara and the Jimny. Incidentally, the Maruti Suzuki Jimny has been in the news for a hefty cut in prices. The 4×4 vehicle was being offered at Rs 2 lakh less than its launch ex-showroom price.
“It’s not a price cut,” clarifies Srivastava. “There is a discount offer. Every year OEMs and channel partners don’t want to carry stocks of the previous calendar year into the next year. That’s why you see huge discounts across all OEMs in December.” He points out that while retail sales are usually the best in December, wholesale numbers are generally the lowest.
The price discount on the Jimny was because the retail sales in November were below expectations, and hence there was an inventory pile up at dealerships resulting in the slashed prices to clear inventory.
Watch the full video below for more on what Maruti Suzuki had to say on the Jimny, small cars, SUVs and it’s future electric vehicle plans.
