Worrying about small cars and sedans is very real for Maruti Suzuki. India's number one passenger vehicle manufacturer, in terms of volume and sales, Maruti Suzuki had to cut production of its passenger cars by 16 per cent in October. At the same time, the carmaker increased production of SUVs and MPVs by 33 per cent last month. This came as the small car segment continued bleeding due to slumping consumer demands and utility vehicles continued to rule the market.

In a regulatory filing, Maruti Suzuki stated that its passenger car production in October 2024 was 89,174 units as compared to 106,190 units registered in October 2023, recording a 16 per cent slump. Production of Maruti Suzuki small cars comprising Alto K10 and S-Presso was down at 12,787 units last month against 14,073 units recorded in October 2023.

Similarly, the production of compact cars Baleno, Celerio, Dzire, Ignis, Swift, and WagonR and those supplied to Toyota Kirloskar Motor were lower at 75,007 units compared to 90,783 units in the same month last year. Mid-sized sedan Ciaz saw production inched up marginally at 1,380 units last month over 1,334 units in the year-ago period.

On the other hand, production of utility vehicles, including Brezza, Ertiga, Fronx, Jimny, and XL6 increased by 33.18 per cent to 72,339 units in October 2024 from 54,316 units registered in the year-ago month. This number includes the rebadged models it supplies to Toyota Kirloskar Motor, under the global Suzuki and Toyota partnership.

Total passenger vehicle production for the car manufacturer was marginally higher at 173,662 units against 173,230 units built in October 2023. Overall vehicle production for the automaker, including the passenger vehicles and light commercial vehicles, was higher last month at 177,312 units from 176,437 units built in October 2023.

Small car sales slump: A major concern for Maruti Suzuki

The growing preference for SUVs and MPVs among mass-market Indian car buyers has come at the behest of smaller car models and while this has impacted different brands differently, it raised concerns more for Maruti Suzuki than reasons to cheer.

Maruti Suzuki has always had a robust small car lineup with the likes of Alto K10, WagonR, Baleno and Swift faring much better than competing models. However, recent years have seen demand in the small car segment decline while SUVs have gained in popularity. This has propelled the OEM to make a determined bid to expand its SUV portfolio, launching the likes of Fronx, Jimny, Grand Vitara and even the Toyota Innova Crysta-based Invicto. But while a few of these models have fared well, the decline in sales of models in the mini and compact sub-segments is a worry especially because overall demand in the domestic Indian automobile market has fallen this year vis-a-vis last year.

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