Cautiously Optimistic About the Future: Maruti
Country's largest carmaker by market share, Maruti Suzuki India says it is anticipating the automotive industry to revive later in the current calendar year and that it was "cautiously optimistic" about the near term revival of the auto sector.
At the sidelines of ongoing Auto Expo, Shashank Srivastava, Executive Director (Marketing & Sales), Maruti Suzuki told BW Businessworld, ”We saw a much better Q3 numbers. We are logging positive growth in January too. We are cautiously optimistic about the future. We also have to see how consumers react to price rise post the (BS-VI emission norms. But the bottom line is I do see the uptick in the numbers.”
It is to be mentioned that in the first month of 2020 has seen Maruti selling a total of 1,54,123 units including 1,42,250 units in the domestic market.
Commenting on the budget announcements, Srivastava said: “There have been some long term measures which are very positive for the automotive industry. There will be more money in the hands of individuals (due to income tax cuts). The propensity to spend will also increase which will help the car industry. There has been an outlay for the rural sector too. Nearly 40% of the cars sold by Maruti Suzuki would be in rural areas. The other big thing is the investment earmarked for infrastructure sectors worth Rs. 1.7 lakh crore. That will also have a long term impact on the industry positively."
Srivastava also maintained that Maruti Suzuki today announced an aggressive plan to sell one million green cars over the next few years under its ‘Mission Green Million’. “In its bid to accomplish this goal, we will have 4 technologies which are CNG, Smart Hybrid, Strong Hybrid and of course Electric (Vehicles). With the launch of CNG in 2010 and Smart Hybrid in 2015, the company has cumulatively sold one million green vehicles in India. Now we are aiming for the next one million.” Talking about is EVs, he maintained, “Most projections show that by 2030, 7% of the vehicle parc will be electric vehicles in India. If you take a CAGR of 8%, 70 million cars will be sold in the market, out of which 4-5 million may be electric vehicles.“
As a part to realize the Mission Green Million, Maruti Suzuki showcased CONCEPT FUTURO-e, coupé SUV concept for hybrid or electric cars at the Auto Expo 2020. On the global preview, Maruti Suzuki MD Kenichi Ayukawa said at the press conference, “CONCEPT FUTURO-e is a design study. It presents possibilities of a new global design language for the SUV segment. The segment has recently seen a tremendous surge in popularity. A coupé styled SUV is a first from.
Talking about the Auto Expo, Srivastava said, “Auto Expo is a great opportunity to showcase some of the next-gen products that we have our intent and the direction and design (language). FUTORe is (showcased) to garner feedback from consumers.”
