Maruti Suzuki Boosts Auto Industry with 24% Rise in December Volumes

The performance of the Auto Industry in December was bolstered by market leader Maruti Suzuki, which experienced a 24% increase in wholesale volumes compared to the previous year, totaling 130,117 units. The firm recorded its highest retail sales ever last month at 252,693 units, lowering total inventories in the network to nine days, according to Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer.

According to industry projections, wholesale vehicle deliveries from factories to dealerships rose by 10-12% to 320,000-325,000 units as manufacturers restocked dealership inventories following strong retail sales during the festive period. In India, automobile manufacturers primarily communicate wholesale shipments rather than direct sales to consumers.

“We also registered our highest-ever annual sales of 1.79 million units last year (CY2024), breaking the earlier record of 1.75 million units seen six years back in 2018. In addition to SUVs, our new launches in the hatchback and sedan segments have been received well which helped boost sales across categories this year”, Banerjee said. Maruti’s newly launched entry sedan DZire clocked 25,000 bookings in December, he said.

Following a slowdown in the first half of this fiscal year, primarily caused by general and state elections along with severe weather, car sales increased by approximately 1% in October and 4% in November. Sales of passenger vehicles increased by 3% in the first quarter.