Near-term worries likely to keep Maruti Suzuki's stock under strain

Market-share loss in SUVs, supply disruptions, and margin improvement may take time to repair

From its highs in mid-November, the stock of the country’s largest passenger vehicle (PV) maker - Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) - has shed around 12 per cent of its value. Downward trend in market share, supply disruptions, and pressure on profitability led to a derating of the stock. Further, brokerages believe there are no near-term triggers for the company to reverse the downward trend.

Recently, CLSA had downgraded the stock to underperform, given that the company was losing market share in the highly profitable sport utility vehicle (SUV) segment. The losses are due to an absence of launches in the