Car demand on a rise: Maruti Suzuki sells 1,67,014 units in March

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New Delhi: The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on April 1 reported total sales of 1,67,014 units in March.

The company had sold 83,792 units in March last year amid nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Its domestic sales stood at 1,49,518 units last month. The auto major had reported sales of 76,976 units in March 2020.

Both dispatches and production were hit last year due to the Covid pandemic.

“Domestic sales in March 2020 had dropped about 48% due to COVID related disruptions. It will be seen that domestic sales in March 2021 have only recovered to March 2019 levels,” MSI said in a statement.

Sales of mini cars, comprising Alto and S-Presso, stood at 24,653 units last month. The company had sold 15,988 units in March 2020.

Similarly, sales of compact segment vehicles, including models Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire,  stood at 82,201 units last month. The company had reported dispatches of 40,519 cars in March last year.

Sales of the mid-sized sedan Ciaz stood at 1,628 units last month. The model wholesales had stood at 1,863 units in March 2020.

Utility vehicle sales, including Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and Ertiga, stood at 26,174 units last month. The company had sold 11,904 units in the year-ago month, MSI said.

Exports in March were at 11,597 units. It stood at 4,712 units in the corresponding month last year, it added.

For the fiscal year 2020-21, the auto major reported total sales of 14,57,861 units, down 6.7 per cent from 15,63,297 units in 2019-20.

The domestic sales in the 2019-20 financial year had fallen by 18 per cent due to reasons that are well known, and in the 2020-21 fiscal the dispatches were affected due to COVID related factors, MSI noted.

The company said its total domestic sales dropped to 13,23,396 units in 2020-21, from 14,36,124 in 2019-20.

In 2018-19, the company had sold 17,53,700 units in the domestic market as compared with 16,53,500 units in 2017-18.

In 2016-17, the auto major had dispatched 14,44,541 units in the domestic market as against 13,05,351 units in 2015-16.