Maruti Suzuki India, the Indian subsidiary of the Japanese automobile major Suzuki has announced that it has lowered its sales growth target for the 2012-13 fiscal to 3-5 percent in light of the present market conditions. The earlier projections for the sales growth by the company were 10 percent for the fiscal.
The fiscal 2011-12 witnessed a 10.8 percent fall in the carmaker’s total sales and a decline of 11.16 percent in the domestic sales. In the period April to September 2012, the company’s sales decreased by 1.42 percent in comparison to the sales in the same period in 2011.
Mr. Shinzo Nakanishi Managing Director and CEO Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) stated that the high petrol price has been affecting the automaker’s sales including that of its best selling models. He added that the increase in diesel prices may prove to be a balancing factor between the petrol and diesel car sales and customers will gradually shift back to petrol cars from diesel cars.
The launch of the new Alto 800 is expected by the company to increase its sales during the festival season in October-November 2012. Mr. Mayank Pareek Chief Operating Officer (Marketing and Sales) MSI states that about 15 percent increase in sales can usually be expected during the festival season.