ADVERTISEMENT

Maruti Suzuki’s Sales Decline The Most In Over Two Years In August

Maruti Suzuki says August sales were adversely affected due to Kerala Floods and heavy rains in other parts of the country.

Attendees walk past the Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. Vitara Brezza compact sports-utility vehicle (SUV) on display at the Auto Expo 2016 in Noida. (Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg)
Attendees walk past the Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. Vitara Brezza compact sports-utility vehicle (SUV) on display at the Auto Expo 2016 in Noida. (Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg)

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.’s sales fell for the second straight month in August, as flooding in Kerala and other parts of the country disrupted operations.

The country’s largest automaker sold 1.58 lakh units last month, a decline of 3.4 percent from the year-ago period, according to its exchange filing. It was the biggest monthly fall since June 2016.

“Sales during the month were adversely affected due to severe floods in Kerala and heavy rains in other parts of the country,” the carmaker said in a press release.

The compact segment, which accounts for around 60 percent of Maruti Suzuki’s passenger car sales, dropped 3.6 percent to 71,364 units. The recently relaunched Swift, premium hatchback Baleno, Celerio, and Ignis, come in this category.

  • Sales of mid-size sedan Ciaz rose 8.4 percent to 7,002.
  • Sales of the mini segment (Alto and WagonR) rose 1.3 percent to 35,895.
  • Overall passenger car sales dropped 1.4 percent to 1.14 lakh.

Sales of the utility vehicles segment, which includes Vitara Brezza and Ertiga, plunged 16.2 percent to 17,971 units. Sales of Omni and Eeco vans rose 1.9 percent to 13,663 units.

Exports Slump

Maruti’s exports in August fell 10.4 percent to 10,489 units. That compares with a 2.8 percent decline in total domestic sales to 1.47 lakh units.

Catch all the updates from August auto sales here.