Maruti expects sales to pick up in second half of FY21

Faster growth in rural areas: Bhargava

Gurugram: Employees queue up to enter Maruti Suzuki India's Manesar plant, which resumed operations after around 40 days of closure due to the coronavirus-led lockdown, near Gurugram in Haryana, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (PTI Photo) (PTI12-05-2020_000061B)

The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki expects sales in the second half of the current fiscal to reach last year’s level, and 2021-22 to be a ‘better year’.

“The economy in rural areas is quite robust, thanks to a good Rabi harvest and the expected normal monsoons. Tractor sales are already higher than last year’s. Our sales in the rural areas are growing faster than in urban areas. We are hoping that in the second half of 2020-21, sales may near the performance of last year and 2021-22 should be better...,” chairman R. C. Bhargava said in the annual report.

In his address to shareholders, Maruti Suzuki’s MD and CEO Kenichi Ayukawa said after the lifting of the lockdown, the company was witnessing some recovery in demand. However, he added that it was too early to judge whether the demand was only pent up or really starting to recover.

The biggest challenge, Mr. Ayukawa said, was to ramp up production of vehicles amid manpower shortages and the local lockdowns in different States or cities affecting the supply of components and delivery of vehicles at dealerships.