Auto Crisis: Maruti Suzuki's August Market Share Lowest In Last 2 Years

The slowdown in the auto sector has affected every aspect of the industry. In fact, almost every manufactures has been hit but this auto crises, some more than the others, but the biggest hit so far has been received by Maruti Suzuki India. According to the data provided by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), in the month of August 2019, the market share of the country's largest carmaker dropped to 47.4 per cent. The lowest Maruti's monthly market share went down this low ever before was two years ago in June 2017, when it dropped to 46.9 per cent.

Maruti Suzuki's market share has been declining gradually in the last few months. In fact, in April 2019, the company's market share stood at 53.1 per cent, which later came down to 48.1 per cent in July and now to 47.4 per cent during last month. Also, between April and August 2019, the company's share fell by 2.34 per cent taking its market share to 49.83 per cent.

Also Read: FADA Asks SIAM To Calculate OEM Market Share Based On Retail Numbers

Maruti Suzuki's UV segment, with the Ertiga, Vitara Brezza, and S-Cross, saw a drop of 14 per cent between April-August 2019

While certainly there are various other reasons for this drop in market share, we wouldn't be wrong in saying that the company announcing its plant to phase out small diesel car might have had a bigger impact on its sales than anticipated. Case in point, the Vitara Brezza, which at one point the top-selling SUV in the market, saw almost a 50 per cent drop in August at 7109 units, compared to the 14,181 units sold in March 2019. However, Maruti Suzuki India, Chairman, R C Bhargava told us that lack in clarity on the arrival of petrol Vitara Brezza was the main reason for this slump.

Also Read: Maruti Suzuki's BS6 Models Constitute 70 Per Cent Of Its Total Sales

Maruti Suzuki's compact car segment went down by 28.8 per cent between April-August 2019

Having said that, the company's entire UV segment, which also includes the S-Cross, and Ertiga saw a drop of 14 per cent between April-August 2019. On the other hand, sales of Maruti's compact car segment, which includes the likes of the Alto, Wagon R, Celerio, Swift, Dzire, Baleno, and Ignis, went down by 28.8 per cent, in that period. Maruti's mid-size segment, with the Ciaz, at the same time, went down by 28.5 per cent during the same months.

Also Read: Hyundai India Market Share Hits All Time High

While the country's largest carmaker is witnessing a massive slump, India's second-largest carmaker, Hyundai's market share grew by 2.76 per cent between April-August 2019. This growth can be attributed to new car launches like the Hyundai Venue, Santro and even the Grand i10 Nios. All three cars catered to a segment which is in demand and of course delivering on the feature and pricing front too. Hyundai sold a total of 2,03,729 vehicles from April-August 2019 and this has seen its market share cross the 18 per cent mark. In fact, the Venue has overtaken the Vitara Brezza as the top-selling SUV in India, while new players like Kia and MG India have been garnering massive bookings.