Maruti Suzuki sales rise 10% in May as SUV sales make a turnaround

• Anaemic demand for small cars and a slippage in exports weighed on total sales in May.
  
• Utility vehicle sales rose 65% to 46,243 units as against 28,051 vehicles in the year-ago month.
  
• Exports declined 3% to 26,477 units as against 27,191 units last year.

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Thursday reported a 10% rise in total sales at 1,78,083 units for May driven by a robust demand for utility vehicles in the domestic market. Anaemic demand for small cars and a slippage in exports weighed on total sales.

“The shortage of electronic components had a minor impact on the production of vehicles. The Company took all possible measures to minimise the impact,” it said in a statement to the stock exchange.

In May, the company's domestic sales rose 13% to 1,51,606 units as against 1,34,222 units a year earlier. Total domestic passenger vehicle sales jumped 15% to 1,43,708 units as compared with 1,24,474 units in the same month last year.

Utility vehicle sales, including Brezza, Grand Vitara and Ertiga, rose 65% to 46,243 units as against 28,051 vehicles in the year-ago month, Maruti said in a statement.

In April, Maruti had said it is looking to sell nearly half a million SUVs in the current fiscal 2023-2024 to notch up the top slot in the country's fast-growing SUV segment. It’s eyeing a market share of 45% in SUVs by end of FY24, up from 41% in FY23.

Small cars, exports drop

In May, sales of mini cars that include Alto and S-Presso models, dropped 30% to 12,236 units as compared with 17,408 units in the year-ago period.

Compact car sales, including models such as Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire, increased 5% to 71,419 units as against 67,947 units in May 2022.

Sales of mid-sized sedan Ciaz rose to 992 units from 586 units in the year-ago period.

Exports declined 3% to 26,477 units as against 27,191 units in the corresponding month last year, the company said.

Maruti Suzuki May 2023 sales

Category	May 2023	May 2022
Mini	12,236	17,408
Compact	71,419	67,947
Mini + Compact Segment	83,655	85,355
Mid-Size (Ciaz)	992	586
Total Passenger Cars	84,647	85,941
Utility Vehicles	46,243	28,051
Vans	12,818	10,482
Total Domestic Passenger Vehicle Sales (PV)	143,708	124,474
Total Domestic Sales (PV+LCV+OEM)	151,606	134,222
Total Export Sales	26,477	27,191
Total Sales (Total Domestic + Export)	178,083	161,413

Source: Company statement

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