Latest news with #MarutiSuzukiIndiaLtd
Time of India
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Maruti engine sputters on small car woes
Production at Maruti Suzuki India Ltd , India's largest carmaker, fell to a five-year low in June as demand for its bread-and-butter small cars and compact sedans continued to weaken. An email sent to Maruti remained unanswered. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Artificial Intelligence Design Thinking others healthcare MBA Public Policy Management Digital Marketing Data Analytics MCA CXO Others Product Management Finance Leadership Healthcare Data Science Technology Operations Management PGDM Cybersecurity Degree Project Management Data Science Skills you'll gain: Duration: 7 Months S P Jain Institute of Management and Research CERT-SPJIMR Exec Cert Prog in AI for Biz India Starts on undefined Get Details June is typically when Maruti undertakes its bi-annual plant maintenance shutdown, but this year's figure is the lowest for the month since 2020. Output has fallen 23% to 125,392 from 163,037 in June 2021, according to the company's monthly production filing. The slide is reflective of broader fatigue in the small car segment, once Maruti's mainstay, amid a shift in consumer preferences toward sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and premium models. SUVs now account for 66% of the total sales mix, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Besides this, Maruti lacks electric vehicles in its model range. Rivals Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra have a head start in that segment. Live Events Dealers say inventory levels have been gradually building up at outlets, particularly for models such as the Alto, S-Presso, Dzire and Celerio, forcing the automaker to regulate output to avoid overstocking. 'Despite attractive consumer offers, demand in the entry-level segment has remained tepid for several quarters,' said a senior executive at a leading Maruti dealership. Changing Buyer Preferences 'Rising ownership costs, changing consumer aspirations, and urban market saturation are all playing a role.' According to a July 1 report by Kotak Institutional Equities, Maruti's domestic sales declined 4.5% year-on-year in the June quarter, pulled down by a steep 36% drop in the sales of its smallest models. The broader market hasn't fared much better. Passenger vehicle sales in India fell 1.4% to 1 million units in the April-June period from the year earlier, snapping a four-year growth streak, according to data released by SIAM on Tuesday. Analysts said the outlook for small cars remains weak in the near term, and manufacturers may need to re-strategize product portfolios to align with evolving buyer preferences. 'Apart from the structural changes in the car market, lack of a completely new model introduction in the small car segment has made it unattractive for the buyers,' said Puneet Gupta, director at S&P Global Mobility. Companies are no longer looking at investing in new small car models as tighter regulations on emissions and safety have made it unviable for manufacturers to sell cars at competitive prices, he noted. Brokerage Nomura Research has maintained its FY26 growth forecast for passenger vehicles and two-wheelers at 5% and 7%, respectively. 'We expect demand to improve in the second half, led by lower income tax and reduced interest rates,' Kapil Singh of Nomura Research said in a note. Expectations that the upcoming festive season—along with lower income taxes and interest rates—may revive demand need to be balanced by Chinese curbs on the export of rare earth magnets, a critical component of EVs and ICE engines.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Maruti Suzuki announces standardization of six airbags in Ertiga & Baleno, ex-showroom prices to rise
Auto giant Maruti Suzuki on Wednesday announced the standardization of six airbags in its Ertiga and Baleno models will lead to an increase in their average ex-showroom prices. The standardization will result in a 1.4per cent increase in the ex-showroom price of the Ertiga and a 0.5% hike for the Baleno, effective from July 16. Recently, Maruti Suzuki India reported a 6 per cent year-on-year decline in total sales to 1,67,993 units in June. The move by the country's largest carmaker comes as it announced that it will equip all its passenger vehicles with six airbags by the end of this year. The company offers 10 models with six airbags as a standard feature across variants. These models are Alto K10, Celerio, WagonR, Eeco, Swift, Dzire, Brezza, Grand Vitara, Jimny and Invicto. "Within this year, Maruti Suzuki will be having all models across all variants equipped with six airbags as standard," said Hisashi Takeuchi , managing director of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL), the Indian subsidiary of Japan's Suzuki Motor Corporation. Demand for safety features Safety features like six airbags, electronic stability control (ESC), anti-lock braking systems (ABS) with electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), and ISOFIX child seat mounts--all considered luxuries till recently--are rapidly becoming standard. Increasingly stricter norms in recent years—the latest government mandate requires six airbags in passenger vehicles by October 2025—is accelerating the trend. But the main driver is demand.
Mint
10-07-2025
- Automotive
- Mint
Small cars face a stricter fuel efficiency threat even as sales crater. Will there be a rethink?
India's top energy efficiency agency is exploring possible ways to ease proposed emission caps for small cars amid plummeting demand, according to two people aware of the matter, even as electric vehicle makers oppose such a relief. The potential plan may allow small cars a regulatory relaxation in the initial years from the next-generation Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) standards, which are aimed at making vehicles more fuel-efficient, the people said on the condition of anonymity. This will be followed by a gradual tightening in the subsequent years, they said. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), which is tasked with finalising CAFE III and IV norms, is studying the viability of easing these emission norms for small cars, the second person quoted above said. 'There should be something done to make small cars affordable for the common man," said a top Indian government functionary. Sales of small cars have tumbled 71% in five years through March 2025, with automakers attributing it to the high cost of entry-level vehicles. Market leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has sought relaxation from stricter CAFE norms—to be rolled out next year—for small cars weighing less than 1,000 kg. But this has split the industry with makers of electric vehicles opposing the demand. Small cars are relatively fuel-efficient and widely used and discussions around CAFE norms for this segment are increasingly growing relevant, said Saket Mehra, partner and automotive industry leader, Grant Thornton Bharat. 'Any potential adjustments to the norms must carefully weigh the benefits of affordability and accessibility against the need to maintain momentum in reducing vehicular emissions." Stringent emission caps CAFE norms, applicable for vehicles weighing under 3,500 kg, create a ceiling for the average carbon dioxide emissions in a manufacturer's fleet. Currently, under the second iteration of these standards, each company is allowed up to 113 grams of CO2 emissions per km on average, calculated by measuring the tailpipe emissions of an individual vehicle. According to a publicly available copy of the BEE memorandum inviting comments from stakeholders, CO2 emissions ceiling will be lowered to 91.7 grams per km in CAFE III and to 70 grams per km in CAFE IV norms. The new norms will come into effect from April 2027 for five years. Stringent CAFE norms will force automakers to manufacture cleaner vehicles with hybrid, electric, hydrogen, or flex fuel powertrains. Violations will result in a penalty of at least ₹10 lakh for every vehicle found emitting excessive carbon dioxide, under the Energy Conservation Act. Automakers will have to pay extra penalties for the amount of CO2 emitted beyond the CAFE ceiling, and breaching it by a higher margin will attract heftier penalties. Easier rules will allow companies like Maruti Suzuki to add more small cars to their portfolio since stringent emission caps limit the number of cars the company can manufacture. 'BEE is in the process of conducting an analysis, a study, on the next iteration of CAFE norms. There have been stakeholder consultations between the industry and the government. MHI and MoRTH will send inputs for the study," said the first of the two people mentioned above, requesting anonymity. BEE, which reports to the Union power ministry, will take inputs from the ministries of heavy industries, and road transport and highways (MoRTH). Queries emailed to the spokespersons of BEE, MHI, and MoRTH on 8 July remained unanswered. Small car demand craters "The main goal of these norms is to make cars more fuel-efficient, which means they use less petrol or diesel to travel the same distance," said Mehra of Grant Thornton Bharat. 'This helps reduce the amount of fuel we consume as a country and lowers the cost of running vehicles for consumers." Mehra said CAFE norms encourage automakers to innovate and produce vehicles that consume less fuel and emit fewer pollutants, aligning with the country's climate goals and public health priorities. Queries emailed on Wednesday to the spokespersons of Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors Ltd,Hyundai Motors India Ltd, Kia India Pvt Ltd, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd, and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd remained unanswered. CAFE has become another point of contention between Maruti Suzuki, which makes small cars and hybrid cars, and other automakers which have electric cars in their portfolio. Electric vehicles emit no carbon dioxide, while hybrids emit lesser CO2 than petrol or diesel vehicles. Data from industry lobby Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) showed that sales of small cars–under 3.6 metres in length–fell from 460,772 units in FY19 to 152,262 in FY24 and 133,397 in FY25, a 71% drop in six years, Mint reported on 5 June. However, India's EV market has been gaining momentum, with sales rising about 17% in FY25, according to the Vahan portal. Over 1.9 million EVs were sold in India in FY25, compared with about 1.6 million in FY24. In the same period, sales of petrol and diesel vehicles rose 4% to 21.8 million from 20.9 million in the previous fiscal.
Business Standard
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- Business Standard
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd gains for third straight session
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd is quoting at Rs 12771, up 1.18% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The stock is up 5.64% in last one year as compared to a 5.01% jump in NIFTY and a 4.82% jump in the Nifty Auto index. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd is up for a third straight session in a row. The stock is quoting at Rs 12771, up 1.18% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is up around 0.26% on the day, quoting at 25520.6. The Sensex is at 83613.76, up 0.24%. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has gained around 5% in last one month. Meanwhile, Nifty Auto index of which Maruti Suzuki India Ltd is a constituent, has gained around 3.48% in last one month and is currently quoting at 23899.85, up 1.02% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 3.34 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 3.54 lakh shares in last one month. The benchmark July futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 12785, up 1.1% on the day. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd is up 5.64% in last one year as compared to a 5.01% jump in NIFTY and a 4.82% jump in the Nifty Auto index. The PE of the stock is 28.44 based on TTM earnings ending March 25.
Business Standard
19-06-2025
- Automotive
- Business Standard
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd gains for fifth session
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd is quoting at Rs 12820, up 0.56% on the day as on 12:44 IST on the NSE. The stock is up 5.52% in last one year as compared to a 5.2% spurt in NIFTY and a 7.39% spurt in the Nifty Auto. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd is up for a fifth straight session today. The stock is quoting at Rs 12820, up 0.56% on the day as on 12:44 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is down around 0.08% on the day, quoting at 24792.6. The Sensex is at 81363.65, down 0.1%. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has risen around 1.44% in last one month. Meanwhile, Nifty Auto index of which Maruti Suzuki India Ltd is a constituent, has risen around 0.55% in last one month and is currently quoting at 23312.35, up 0.38% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 1.64 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 3.02 lakh shares in last one month. The benchmark June futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 12762, up 0.45% on the day. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd is up 5.52% in last one year as compared to a 5.2% spurt in NIFTY and a 7.39% spurt in the Nifty Auto index. The PE of the stock is 28.71 based on TTM earnings ending March 25.
