Maruti Suzuki is regaining market share as easing production constraints, record CNG sales and strong rural demand helped it outpace the passenger vehicle industry in the April-June quarter. The company expects to gain at least two percentage points in wholesale and retail market share, taking its overall share to around 41 per cent.”We have outperformed the market in the first quarter and are growing at around 33.5 per cent, higher than the industry. Our endeavour is to continue outperforming the market,” said Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer Domestic Sales, Marketing, Head (Markting, Sales, Maruti Suzuki India.
A key driver behind the recovery has been higher production as capacity constraints begin to ease. Maruti has enhanced capacity on select production lines at its Kharkhoda facility, enabling the company to increase output after several quarters of supply limitations.
“Our production numbers are the highest ever this quarter, thanks to the capacity ramp-up. We had the annual one-week shutdown in June, and production constraints are now much lower. Network stock is at around 14 days and should improve further as production normalises,” Banerjee added. The company currently has around 1.3 lakh pending customer bookings.
Record-Breaking CNG Sales
Higher fuel prices following the West Asia conflict have accelerated consumer preference for CNG-powered vehicles, helping Maruti post its highest-ever quarterly CNG sales of 2,18,213 units. CNG models accounted for nearly 42 per cent of the company’s sales in June, up around five percentage points from a year earlier.
“Fuel prices do impact buying behaviour. As fuel prices increased, we raised supplies of CNG models, resulting in our best-ever CNG sales. We are seeing customers shift from both petrol and diesel vehicles to CNG,” Banerjee said.
The shift has been particularly visible in the Victoris, where over half the buyers are opting for the CNG variant, many of them replacing diesel vehicles. More than 50 per cent of WagonR sales are also CNG, while CNG penetration across several other models has crossed 40 per cent.
Maruti maintained that CNG, hybrid and electric powertrains are complementary rather than competing technologies. “We believe every technology has its place. Until charging infrastructure expands significantly, hybrids and plug-in hybrids will continue to play an important role alongside EVs and CNG,” the spokesperson said.
Rural Markets
The company also reported a 45 per cent increase in rural sales, with rural markets now contributing 53.1 per cent of its volumes. Entry-level cars continue to show signs of revival. Sales of the Alto K10 and S-Presso reached 43,757 units during the quarter, their highest level in three years.
“There is tremendous potential in the small car market. India still has car penetration of only 34 vehicles per 1,000 people. If customers are offered the right product at the right price, demand will continue to grow,” the spokesperson said.
While the company expects the industry to remain on a growth path, it cautioned that geopolitical developments and the progress of the monsoon make the outlook for the second half difficult to predict, particularly after a strong base in the corresponding period last year.