Maruti Suzuki, which is witnessing surging demand for its range of SUVs and MPVs, has ramped up production to meet said demand. The carmaker manufactured a total of 2,00,767 vehicles in January 2024, an increase of 13 percent year on year (January 2023: 1,78,429 units). Of its five vehicle sub-segments, production of utility vehicles (UVs) saw the highest YoY growth – the 58,226 units are a 100 percent increase over January 2023’s 29,097 units. Maruti currently has eight models in its UV portfolio comprising the Brezza, Grand Vitara, Fronx, Jimny, XL6, Ertiga and the new Invicto.
- Maruti's total production increases 13 percent in January 2024
- 10-month cumulative sales up 77 percent (April 2023-January 2024)
- Alto and S-Presso sales decline 42 percent in same period
Following the launch of the petrol-engined Fronx in end-April 2023 and the CNG Fronx in July 2023, overall UV production saw a marked increase in the subsequent months (see table below) following an increase in demand for other popular SUVs and the Ertiga. The Fronx has since surpassed sales of 1,00,000 units, barely 10 months after launch. It's a similar story with the Brezza, which wintnessed an increase in demand post the launch of the CNG variant in March 2023. The last 1,00,000 units of the Brezza were sold in just the last eight months.
| Maruti Suzuki UV production numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| CY2023 | CY2022 | Growth | |
| January | 29,097 | 33,550 | -13% |
| February | 26,651 | 33,191 | -20% |
| March | 29,440 | 36,249 | -19% |
| April | 31,877 | 40,399 | -21% |
| May | 40,794 | 36,941 | 10% |
| June | 35,128 | 28,002 | 25% |
| July | 54,788 | 40,247 | 36% |
| August | 51,175 | 35,697 | 43% |
| September | 56,579 | 29,811 | 90% |
| October | 54,316 | 23,681 | 129% |
| November | 45,483 | 29,294 | 55% |
| December | 44,290 | 27,303 | 62% |
| Total | 4,99,618 | 3,94,365 | 27% |
This production data, as detailed in Maruti Suzuki’s vehicle production statistics, includes output from both its plants in Haryana as well as Suzuki Motor Gujarat. The high output from its factories in January is because Maruti Suzuki is on a roll when it comes to SUV and MPV sales.
While the 166,802 units the company sold in January 2024 are up 13 percent YoY, the 62,308 UVs despatched to showrooms across India constitute the second-best monthly UV performance after July 2023's 62,049 units, falling short by just 11 units.
Just how strong the demand continues to be for Maruti Suzuki’s SUVs and MPVs is reflected in their 10-month cumulative sales: 522,626 units, up 77 percent YoY (April 2022-January 2023: 295,525 units). This translates into an additional 227,101 UVs being sold compared to the year-ago period, with the April 2023-January 2024 UV sales contributing 36.12 percent to the company’s total PV sales of 1.44 million units in the first 10 months of FY2024. Sustained demand for its SUVs and MPVs, particularly the new Nexa models, means that the UV share is a third of total passenger vehicles, helping buffer the 42 percent decline in the sales of the Alto and S-Presso in the past 10 months.
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