Maruti posts 20% growth in used car sales

Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), the market leader in the domestic passenger car segment, has posted a 20 per cent growth in its used car sales business in Orissa and West Bengal during April-September this year, compared to the corresponding period of last year.

Talking to Business Standard, Jatinder S Dhindsa, regional manager (east) of MSIL said, “Maruti Suzuki sold around 5,000 units of used cars across all its models in the states of Orissa and West Bengal during April-September this year, achieving a 20 per cent growth over the same period last year. The company clocked a sales figure of 450 units last month.”

However, Dhindsa refused to spell MSIL’s overall sales target in the used car segment for 2008-09.

All used car models of Maruti Suzuki in the organised market were sold through the 14 True Value stores of the company in West Bengal and Orissa. On a pan-India basis, MSIL’s organised second hand car market grew by nearly 30 per cent during April-September. The car maker had sold over one lakh cars across the country in the used car segment last year.

The size of the used car market in India is estimated at about 10 lakh units per annum, with the market being largely fragmented and unorganised. The share of the organised market in this segment is only about 10 per cent while unorganised dealers account for another 30 per cent share. The balance 60 per cent of the sales in the used car market is through personal dealings between the buyers and the sellers.

Maruti Suzuki’s True Value store is the biggest player in the second hand car market. The other prominent players in the used car segment include Honda Auto Terrace, Mahindra First Choice and Toyota You Trust, the used car ventures of Honda Siel Cars Limited, Mahindra & Mahindra and Toyota Kirloskars’ Limited respectively.