Last month, Maruti Suzuki registered a huge Year-on-Year drop in domestic sales, down to 86,380 units, although exports grew to 17,565 units
Maruti Suzuki, the largest carmaker in India, has revealed its sales figures for September 2021. The carmaker was able to record a total dispatch figure of 86,380 units last month, thereby registering a sales drop of over 43 per cent on a Year-on-Year (YoY) basis compared to 1,60,442 units sold in September 2020.
The biggest decline in sales was seen by hatchbacks, like the Alto, Baleno, Swift, Wagon-R, and even the S-Presso micro-crossover. However, Maruti also saw a huge sales drop in other categories as well, including SUVs, MPVs, and vans. Overall, the Indo-Japanese manufacturer’s sales figures weren’t too impressive in the domestic market, although sales to other OEMs saw only a marginal decline.
Maruti’s total domestic sales thus dropped by just under 55 per cent on a YoY basis, to 68,815 units last month, down from 1,52,608 units in September 2020! However, the company’s exports increased from 7,834 units in September 2020 to 17,565 units in September 2021, which is a 124 per cent YoY growth.
The biggest reason for the poor sales performance is the global semiconductor chip shortage. Due to a lack of chips, many manufacturers have been forced to limit the production of their vehicles, even temporarily shutting down their plants, thus affecting dispatch figures. This is a major problem, especially with the festive season fast approaching.
Also, Maruti Suzuki has a few new launches in the pipeline. The company will introduce the next-generation Celerio soon, likely in November 2021. The new model gets a completely new exterior design, and is expected to get a few new features as well. The engine choices will likely consist of a 1.0L petrol unit (68 PS/90 Nm) and a 1.2L petrol unit (83 PS/113 Nm).
Apart from that, the manufacturer will also launch the CNG-powered variants of the Swift and Dzire soon. Test mules of these upcoming CNG cars have been spotted a few times, and as per speculations, they will get a 1.2L engine, rated at 72 PS and 95 Nm of peak power and torque, respectively, when running on natural gas (83 PS/113 Nm on petrol).