Car sales far from normal monthly numbers: Maruti chairman R C Bhargava

Even as Maruti Suzuki hit 100,000 car sales in July, it’s nowhere near the normal monthly numbers, Chairman R C Bhargava has said in a cautionary note.  The auto major is currently producing vehicles at 60 per cent of its installed capacity in the Gurugram and Manesar plants, Bhargava pointed out during an interview. 

The high sales figures of last month should be compared with July 2018, when the company sold over 150,000 cars, rather than with July 2019 when it sold only 98,000, Bhargava said, adding that the base was low.

It’s however the shift in buying pattern that’s striking. For instance,  vehicles priced below Rs 5 lakh constitute as much as 32 per cent of the company’s total sales now, up from 28 per cent last July, according to Bhargava.