Maruti overtakes Mahindra as highest selling UV carmaker in May

Maruti Suzuki has dethroned Mahindra to become the country’s highest selling utility vehicle manufacturer in May. Maruti Suzuki’s utility vehicles, which currently includes the Gypsy, Ertiga, S-Cross, and the Vitara Brezza combined, outsold Mahindra’s passenger utility vehicles for the second successive month.

In the month of May, the four utility vehicles in Maruti’s portfolio sold 22,608units, as compared to 19,331units sold by Mahindra in the same month. The same was the case for the month of April when Maruti managed to sell 20,638units, while Mahindra was able to find 18,363 takers. The cumulative utility vehicle sales of Maruti Suzuki in the two months of the fiscal year stood at 43,246 units, as compared to 37,694 units for Mahindra for the same period.

Interestingly, in the calendar year of 2017 (January to May), Maruti Suzuki registered a growth of 45 per cent in utility vehicle sales, whereas M&M witnessed a decline of 6 per cent. The key factor for the shift in the utility vehicle leader board has been the sub-four metre SUV segment. 

The Vitara Brezza, the 2017 Indian Car of the Year, has been the ace for Maruti Suzuki, selling an average of 8,000+units every month since its launch in March last year. On the other hand, Mahindra’s four new sub-four metre SUVs – the KUV100, TUV300, NuvoSport and Bolero Plus weren’t able to impress the Indian car buyers. Even the combined sales numbers of the four sub-four metre SUVs isn’t able to surpass that of the Vitara Brezza’s. 

Mahindra is known for being the UV vehicle specialist in the country, however, the leadership shift could indicate the changing priorities of the car buyers in India. Mahindra’s lack of petrol engine options, with an increasing demand for petrol vehicles lately, is one of the contributing factors for the lack of demand for Mahindra vehicles. Meanwhile, the Vitara Brezza is also eating up the compact car sales with its attractive pricing and value for money package. 

RC Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki, commenting on the achievement, said, “I am not surprised by the numbers we have been able to generate in the utility vehicle segment, but I will not read too much in the leadership in utility vehicle segment. It is clear that if you make a good product and offer right quality and features, people will choose your product.”