
The contribution of strong hybrid vehicles to Maruti Suzuki’s portfolio stood at 16% in August, according to Partho Banerjee, Executive Officer- Marketing and Sales, Maruti Suzuki. In FY24, strong hybrid penetration was 9%.
Maruti Suzuki, the country’s largest automobile manufacturer, has two strong hybrid models–Grand Vitara and Invicto.
Meanwhile, the CNG share in Maruti Suzuki’s portfolio stood at 34% in August. Maruti Suzuki has approximately 1.65 lakh bookings for the CNG models with Ertiga, Brezza and Dzire in the lead.
“This year, we have grown by 28% between April and August. Our numbers are going up month after month. In August, we have almost touched 50,000. So our major focus is to get all the models to the customer based on their business needs. And we want to further move it down to more and more towns where the CNG is available, and to create an awareness among the customers that you can avail the CNG. And it's a very good product to own,” said Banerjee.
The company had earlier said that it aims for 6 lakh car sales by FY30.
Meanwhile, the company witnessed a 4% decline in sales in August to 1,81,782 units, as against 1,89,082 units in the same period last year despite discounts being offered by the company. The company’s sales in the small car and compact segment declined by 18.8% to 68,699 units as against 84,660 units in August last year. The sedans account for 7.9% and hatchback account for 40.5% in Maruti Suzuki’s portfolio.
According to Banerjee, the sales of small cars is likely to grow going forward.
“Due to different regulations which were needed to be implemented in the vehicle, the cost of the vehicle has gone up substantially. However, at the same time, the monthly household income of the set of customers has not gone up. That has resulted in a huge gap, which is resulting in customers not able to buy the car,” said Banerjee.
According to Banerjee, with the launch of limited series edition, the company is witnessing good traction for small cars amongst customers. “At the same time, there is another challenge that this customer profile, getting the finance is also a big challenge for them. So we have been working with our finance partners also to come up with some innovative products,” said Banerjee.