Maruti Suzuki sales dip 6 pc in Jun

New Delhi, Jul 1 (PTI) Maruti Suzuki India on Tuesday reported a 6 per cent year-on-year decline in total sales to 1,67,993 units in June.

The country's largest carmaker had sold a total of 1,79,228 units in June 2024.

Its total domestic passenger vehicle dispatches to dealers stood at 1,18,906 units last month compared to 1,37,160 units in the year-ago period, a dip of 13 per cent, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement.

"The slowdown in passenger vehicle sales is largely due to a sharp decline in the smaller segment cars. Historically, passenger vehicle sales used to grow at 1.5 times the GDP growth. But now, even after 6.5 per cent GDP growth, the car market is nearly flat," MSI Senior Executive Officer Rahul Bharti said.

This is because the once mass small car segment is not participating in the growth at all, he added.

"This is clearly an affordability issue," Bharti said.

Since 2019, the entry-level price point in the industry has jumped by over 70 per cent, largely driven by stricter regulations, and sales of smaller cars have fallen by over 70 per cent.

Sales of mini-segment cars Alto and S-Presso declined to 6,414 units against 9,395 units in the same month last year.

Sales of compact cars, including Baleno, Celerio, Dzire, Ignis, Swift, and WagonR, also fell to 54,177 units from 64,049 units in June 2024.

Utility vehicles Grand Vitara, Brezza, Ertiga, XL6, and Jimny clocked sales of 47,947 units last month compared to 52,373 units earlier. Sales of Eeco van stood at 9,340 units against 10,771 units.

Light commercial vehicle Super Carry sales fell to 2,433 units from 2,758 units earlier.

MSI said its exports last month stood at 37,842 units compared to 31,033 units in June 2024. PTI MSS MSS BAL BAL