Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest car manufacturer has been making inroads into the auto market in the rural regions boosting its sales with the help of exchange and loyalty programs. In the April-June 2012 quarter, the company sold 1,24,476 units through these programs in the rural segment, which amounts to about 47 percent of its total domestic sales in the quarter.
According to Mr. Mayank Pareek Chief Operating Officer (Marketing and Sales) Maruti Suzuki, one-third of the company’s sales were attributed to by the rural exchange programs before the industry witnessed a slowdown in the year 2011. He added that with intensified focus on rural sales through loyalty programs, the company has an 18 percent increase in the rural sales.
The company’s growth in the April-June 2012 quarter despite the sluggish sales in the industry is stated to be an outcome of an increase in sales in the rural areas even as sales grew marginally in the urban areas for the company contributing to a 5 percent increase in overall sales in the period. The sales from rural areas are expected to account for half of the company’s overall volume by the year 2015.