Maruti Suzuki reports 2.6 per cent drop in sales in January 2016

Maruti Suzuki reported selling a total of 1,13,606 units of passenger cars in January 2016 in India. This includes 1,06,383 units in the domestic market and 7,223 units in exports. However, as compared to January 2015’s 1,16,606 units, the car maker saw decline in sale by 2.6 per cent.

In a official statement, Maruti Suzuki has cited “lesser number of working days in January 2016” which has impacted overall production and dispatch, and in turn lower domestic sales.

According to the sales reports shared by the company, Maruti Suzuki sold 34,206 units in January 2016, in the Mini car segment which comprises of the Maruti Alto and WagonR. In comparison it had sold 35,750 units in the segment in the same month last year, which is drop by 4.3 per cent.

In the Compact car segment the company sold 44,575 units last month as compared to 45,881 units in January 2015, witnessing a marginal decline of 2.8 per cent. This is surprising as the segment includes popular models like the Maruti Suzuki Swift, DZire and even the recently launched Maruti Suzuki Baleno. 

A segment above in what Maruti terms as Super Compact, which is essentially the Dizire Tour segment it witnessed a hike from last January’s 1,378 units to 3,545 units in January 2015.

While, the mid-size sedan segment comprising of Maruti Suzuki Ciaz saw a drop in sale by 9.6 per cent at 5,431 units sales in January 2016.

Coming to the Utility Vehicle segment which is made up of the Gypsy, Ertiga, Grand Vitara and the S-Cross, Maruti Suzuki reported an increase in sale by over 26 per cent, growing from last January’s 6,432 units to 8,114 units. A big reason for this is the introduction and then the recent price correction of close to Rs 2 lakh on the Maruti S-Cross. 

The last segment of Vans which includes Omni, Eeco also showed positive signs as it sold 10,512 units in January 2016, which is close to 500 units more than January 2015.

Purely in terms of domestic sales, Maruti Suzuki did have a fairly well and maintained the momentum set in 2015 even in 2016 by selling 1,06,383 units as compared to 1,05,559 as compared to the same month in 2015.

And going by the wide range of new models lined up to be showcased at the 2016 Auto Expo, we can be sure that the company continue to go from strength to strength in the coming months.