By Swaraj Baggonkar
“Loss of market share is good for the company because it jolts us from our comfort zone,” said Maruti Suzuki chairman RC Bhargava on Saturday, even as the company battles surging competition amid a faster-than-expected shift to electric mobility and rapidly changing regulatory norms.
Reflecting on the company’s 40 years of operations, in which it has retained the market leader’s position for more than three decades with an average share of more than 40%, Bhargava said, “If you have been Number 1 for a long time (then) the biggest danger for you is complacency. You will not be number one for very long if you begin to think that you need not do anything. We are conscious of that. We try to see that periodic things, like market share loss, are good in a sense, because they keep us on our toes.”
Homegrown rivals like Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) have chipped away Maruti Suzuki’s market share in recent quarters, building on consumer demand for stylish and urban sports utility vehicles (SUVs), a segment where the market leader’s presence is not the strongest.
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As per data shared by the Society of India Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Maruti Suzuki’s market share settled at 40.54% in Q1FY23 from 43% in FY22. Tata Motors share improved to 14.5% in Q1FY23 from 12% in FY22. M&M share improved to 8.38% in Q1FY23 from 7% in FY22.
For the first time ever, sales of utility vehicles (including SUVs) in India crossed the 50% mark by the end of June, led by Tata Motors. And, till the middle of July this year, when it unveiled the Grand Vitara, which will be available September onward, Maruti Suzuki did not have a second offering in the SUV space besides the Brezza.
India’s car market is rapidly shifting to larger and more expensive vehicles, particularly SUVs, pulling down sales in the entry-level segment, which has led to a faster deceleration in carmakers’ interest in the affordable segment.
“The movement where the small car market is getting squeezed and the upper market is growing is a direction that does not leave me happy. I don’t like that the large mass of buyers who aspire to move up, are finding their dreams moving away,” Bhargava added.
Despite electric vehicles getting a push from the government, the first all-electric product from Maruti Suzuki will debut only in 2025. However, the company is confident of being able to grab significant share in the segment.
“The customer chooses the Maruti brand despite other choices in the market because the brand has a wider distribution network, ease of service, large availability of workshops, availability of spare parts and higher resale value. We were late to enter the diesel segment, but we saw better demand for diesel than anybody else. The same will happen with EVs,” Bhargava said.
