Car market to revive in coming quarters

Domestic car market had reflected rather subdued numbers during Diwali, a traditional boom time for passenger automobile

The current slowdown in the car market would ease in the coming quarters on the back of positive sentiments and optimism in the market.

"The central government has taken several steps to spur growth, which would take some time to show tangible results," top carmaker Maruti Suzuki India vice-president (dealer development) Partho Banerjee said here.

He said the company was confident to grow in double digits in coming quarters.

The domestic car market had reflected rather subdued numbers during Diwali, which has been the traditional boom time for the passenger automobile and consumer durable segments.

Asked if the entry of organised retail in pre-owned car segment was in some measure eating away the share of new cars, he replied in the negative.

"In fact, the old car market has always spurred new car sales in developed economies in the form of offering lucrative car exchange schemes," he claimed.

Banerjee was in town to launch next generation Alto K10 in the Uttar Pradesh market.

He said the company would continue to open new dealerships in all geographies. "It is an on-going process."

The new model delivers fuel efficiency of 24 kmpl, an improvement of 15% over the outgoing model. CNG trim powered by Intelligent Gas Port Injection (iGPI) delivers mileage of 32.26 kilometers per kg (CNG Mode).

The top selling Alto, across variants and models, has so far sold nearly 2.5 million units ever since it was launched in India, he informed.

Alto K10, which comes with 6 variants including CNG, is positioned to strengthen Maruti Suzuki's entry level line-up.