Maruti Suzuki clocks 26% jump in August sales over festive demand

Maruti Suzuki, the country’s biggest car maker, has reported a strong double digit growth of 26 per cent in domestic passenger vehicle sales for August as dealerships prepare for the festive demand that begins later this month. Maruti’s growth will also ensure a double digit growth in the industry’s sales for the month.

Maruti, which now commands a 50 per cent share in the domestic market, sold 151,270 units to dealers last month against 119,906 units in August last year. Sales of compact segment vehicles (Swift, Baleno, etc) rose 62.4 per cent to 74,012 units, while utility vehicles (Brezza, Ertiga, etc) clocked a growth of 27.6 per cent. The mini (Alto, WagonR) segment, however, remained flat at 35,428 vehicles.

The company’s April-August sales this year expanded by 18.7 per cent to 674,432 units. Maruti Suzuki’s stock reacted to the announcement and was trading at Rs 7,799 at 10.30am, up 1.27 per cent at the BSE.