Country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India today reported its highest monthly sales ever at 1,02,175 units in May, registering a 28 per cent jump from same period last year.
For the first time the company has crossed one lakh units in monthly sales, Maruti Suzuki India said in a statement.
Sales for the same month last year were at 79,872 units.
“This is the highest-ever monthly sales for the company. We are trying to beat the usual cycle of low-selling months in the period following the Union budget and before the advent of the monsoon,” MSI Executive Officer (Marketing and Sales) Mayank Pareek told PTI.
He said April to June is usually associated with low sales growth and demand picks up only with the start of the festive season in September-October.
May sales have bettered the company’s previous record of 96,650 units in February this year.
MSI posted its best figure so far for domestic sales at 90,041 units, a 27.20 per cent increase from 70,785 units in May 2009.
Mr. Pareek said big cities contributed substantially to sales in May.
“Earlier sales in the top cities usually used to be less. However, in May, the big towns contributed very robustly with the top ten cities registering growth of 25-26 per cent in sales,” he said.
Rural markets saw an increase of 16-17 per cent in monthly sales in May, Mr. Pareek added.
“There has been a renewal of buying among the city people. The end of recession has made the big companies start their hiring process once again and so money has come into the hands of the customers who are now buying cars,” Mr. Pareek said.
MSI’s exports in May surged by 33.53 per cent to 12,134 units from 9,087 units in the year-ago period, the company added.
In a reversal of the trend for the past several months, sales of the company’s once bread-and-butter model M800 rose 9.50 per cent to 2,558 units compared to 2,336 units in May 2009, the statement said.
Sales of the iconic model has been falling since quite some time.
The A2 segment (comprising Alto, WagonR, Estilo, Swift, A—Star and Ritz) witnessed 16.60 per cent growth, its best ever for a month, at 62,679 units compared to 53,760 units in the same month a year ago.
Mr. Pareek said the company’s best-selling model Alto registered its highest ever monthly sales in May with deliveries crossing 25,000 units.
A3 segment sales (consisting of SX4 and DZiRE) increased by 60.47 per cent to 10,883 units compared to 6,782 units in the corresponding period a year ago, the company said.
MSI’s total passenger car sales rose 26.35 per cent at 89,073 in May against 70,497 units in the same month in 2009, it added.
Asked about the prospect in the coming months, Mr. Pareek said: “There is still some concern over the coming monsoon. Last year, the monsoon was a spoiler but this year we expect it to be normal. A lot would depend on the monsoon.”
