Maruti Suzuki aims to bolster presence in rural India

Maruti Suzuki aims to spread its wings in rural India. The country’s largest carmaker has planned to strengthen its presence in rural India by 20 per cent in over 1.5 lakh villages as opposed to the 1.25 lakh villages it touched last year.

The company had posted its best ever sales in the last financial year by registering an increase of 23 per cent. The carmaker sold 12,92,415 units in the last fiscal out of which 4,15,380 units came from the rural areas.

In the last financial year, Maruti Suzuki penetrated in over 1.25 lakh villages across India at an expansion rate of 34.5 per cent as opposed to the 32 per cent in FY 13-14. At present, more than seven per cent of Maruti’s sales are coming from villages with less than 200 households, states the company.

The carmaker states that rural sales have suffered the brunt of delayed monsoon and also the recent bout of unseasonal rains. The company is, however, hopeful that these conditions would show improvement in the near future.