It’s Up To Competitors Now To React To Maruti’s BS-VI Car Launches: Executive Director
Maruti Suzuki’s Shashank Srivastava downplays risks of deep discounts stemming from competitors such as Kia Motors and Hyundai.
India’s largest carmaker has proactively launched Bharat Stage VI-compliant vehicles at various price points and it’s up to competitors now to react to these unveils.
That’s according to Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.’s Shashank Srivastava.
“Maruti Suzuki has introduced several BS-VI vehicles in their portfolio and we have indicated our prices anyway,” Srivastava, executive director (marketing and sales) at the company, told BloombergQuint in an interview. “Competition will have to look at us and see what they would like to do moving forward.”
The Supreme Court has mandated sale of only BS-VI vehicles from April 1, 2020.
The overall market share of Maruti Suzuki is back at 50 percent after it fell in the first half of the ongoing financial year, said JP Morgan in a research report, noting that competitive intensity simmering in the auto space as one of the key downside risks.
Srivastava, however, downplayed the risks of deep discounts stemming from competitors such as Kia Motors India Inc. and Hyundai Motor India Ltd. The discount levels were based on the industry demand and stock levels at dealers and factories of individual carmakers, he said.
On Price Hikes
Maruti Suzuki said it will hike prices from this month to cover the increase in input costs, mainly on account of BS-VI upgradation. “We have to wait and see how much the prices hikes will be across manufacturers and how will the consumers react,” said Srivastava.
Watch| Growing SUV Sales Is The Silver Lining, Says Maruti Suzuki