So finally the old crown is back. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has gained back the lost glory and has regained its position as the third largest utility vehicle manufacturer in the country almost beating Tata Motors. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers says that they saw an 8 fold increase in the Utility Vehicle segment with the Ertiga. Other well performing vehicles include the Gypsy and the Grand Vitara. This rise has been witnessed in May this year. The Ertiga saw record breaking sales of 12,000 units at the launch. In fact, Maruti has also ramped up the production of the Ertigas after its supply failed to meet the demands as told by the CEO Mayank Pareek. The production units of the Ertiga were increased from 5000 to 6000 to meet the demands. The CEO has declared that the domestic demand of the model has been skyrocketing ever since.
This has increased the valueof the Maruti share in the equity segment and it seems that it would stabilize around 13%. The Ertiga is one of a kind vehicle that led to the increaseof market shares and the company is doing very well with a near capacity of 100%. The Maruti Suzuki Ertiga has done that well that the rest of the other Utility Vehicles have been adversely affected. Even Mahindra and Mahindra saw its sales dropping considerably. Another leader in line, the Tata Motors also saw a slip in its market share. Pareek also said the demand of vehicles may be affected by the decision of the government with respect to the hike in excise duty of diesel cars.The pressure will rise of diesel cars then.
Hence despite the weak economy and rising fuel prices, the demand of the utility vehicles continues to roar loud as compared to the sales of passenger vehicles. At the same time, some other cars in this segment are giving tough competition and doing well. These include the Innova and Mahindra XUV.
