Expect sales to be higher than industry growth this fiscal: Suzuki Motor

Suzuki Motor Corporation on Monday said it expects its automobile sales in India to be higher than the 5-7 per cent annual growth projected for the domestic market this fiscal.

The Japanese automaker, which has a 56.4 per cent stake in the country's leading carmaker Maruti Suzuki India, on Monday reported a consolidated 30.1 per cent year-on-year increase in net sales at 4,641.6 billion yen for FY 2022 (April 2022- March 2023).

In a statement, Suzuki stated that it aims to recover its market share in India by introducing sports utility vehicles.

It also noted that the automaker will focus on multiple technological pathways like CNG and hybrid cars and not solely depend on battery electric cars to contribute to carbon neutrality in the Indian market.

"We want to contribute to carbon neutrality through a 'multi-path' that includes CNG vehicles, HEVs, etc., rather than focusing solely on BEVs," Suzuki Motor Corp said in a statement referring to the Indian market.

The Japanese automaker said its operating profit increased by 159.1 billion yen year on year (83.1 per cent) to 350.6 billion in FY 2022.

Suzuki stated that consolidated net sales and profits increased in the last year, mainly owing to the impact of the exchange rates and an increase in volume in markets like India, Japan and Africa.

On a consolidated basis, the profit attributable to owners of the parent increased by 60.8 billion yen (37.9 per cent) to 221.1 billion yen, the automaker stated.

In the current fiscal year, the company expects net sales of 4.9 trillion yen, up 5.6 per cent from FY2022 mainly due to an increase in volume, Suzuki stated.

Operating profit is expected to be 330 billion yen, down 5.9 per cent from FY2022, due to factors such as increased growth investment to realise the company's growth strategy, as well as the strong yen and increase in raw material prices, it added.

For the 2022-23 fiscal, Maruti Suzuki India posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 8,211 crore against Rs 3,879 crore in 2021-22. Net sales last fiscal year stood at Rs 1,17,571 crore against Rs 88,330 crore in 2021-22.

The company sold a total of 19,66,164 vehicles last fiscal, despite missing production of about 1,70,000 units due to a shortage of electronic components. This translated to a growth of 19 per cent over FY22 sales volume of 16,52,653 vehicles.