Auto Expo 2023: Maruti's market share suffered because of delay in launching SUVs at our end, reveals Suzuki Motor Corp prez
SUVs are 16-18 per cent of the market. We are in the process of taking corrective action and hope to recover our market share," Toshihiro Suzuki, Representative Director and President, Suzuki Motor Corporation said.
- Jan 11, 2023,
- Updated Jan 11, 2023 5:30 PM IST
From a market share of 51 per cent until FY20, India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki has seen a fall to 41 per cent market share in December 2022. Addressing a select media briefing at the Auto Expo 2023 in Greater Noida, Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) said that there was a delay in launching SUVs at their end and that's one of the major reasons for Maruti's market share fall.
"The biggest reason why we couldn't sustain our market share in India is that there was a delay in launching SUVs at our end. SUVs are 16-18 per cent of the market. We are in the process of taking corrective action and hope to recover our market share," Toshihiro Suzuki, Representative Director and President, Suzuki Motor Corporation said.
While the country has also constantly seen the shrinking of the entry level segment owning to increasing vehicle costs, insurance costs, decreasing purchasing power and other factors, Suzuki believes that small cars, still, are a huge category in India and the company will continue to focus on that. "There is still a potential for millions of people in India to use small cars. If you compare what happened in mobile revolution in India to cars then maybe the future is about small cars and not big ones," he added.
"In small cars the CO2 emission is relatively low therefore I see a long-term growth in the small car segment," he said, adding that the company has to put in efforts in expanding sales of small cars.
Their global partnership with Toyota will help them get their hands on innovative EV technologies. "Toyota doesn't expect us to use their technology as it is. We will learn it from them and use it as per SMC's requirement like building small EV cars," he added.
Just like the Kei car, which is well-suited for the Japanese market, similarly the carmaker said it wi explore a suitable product for the local market. "We need to build the most convenient product for the Indian market to use that would entail the development of an exclusive EV model," he said.
India will soon be positioned as the no. 1 car manufacturer. "We would like to capture this opportunity," he added.
He warned that because of global uncertainties, next year the company is expected to go through a difficult phase of growth.
Going forward, he added, SMC and Maruti Suzuki India will not only depend on EVs but a host of solutions like ethanol, flex fuel, hydrogen, etc. The target for SMC, he added, is to achieve its market share back to 50 per cent.
Also read: Auto Expo 2023: Maruti Suzuki unveils its first EV; plans to launch the EVX by 2025
Also read: Auto Expo 2023: Kia plans to invest Rs 2,000 cr on R&D in EV, to launch India-made EV in 2025
From a market share of 51 per cent until FY20, India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki has seen a fall to 41 per cent market share in December 2022. Addressing a select media briefing at the Auto Expo 2023 in Greater Noida, Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) said that there was a delay in launching SUVs at their end and that's one of the major reasons for Maruti's market share fall.
"The biggest reason why we couldn't sustain our market share in India is that there was a delay in launching SUVs at our end. SUVs are 16-18 per cent of the market. We are in the process of taking corrective action and hope to recover our market share," Toshihiro Suzuki, Representative Director and President, Suzuki Motor Corporation said.
While the country has also constantly seen the shrinking of the entry level segment owning to increasing vehicle costs, insurance costs, decreasing purchasing power and other factors, Suzuki believes that small cars, still, are a huge category in India and the company will continue to focus on that. "There is still a potential for millions of people in India to use small cars. If you compare what happened in mobile revolution in India to cars then maybe the future is about small cars and not big ones," he added.
"In small cars the CO2 emission is relatively low therefore I see a long-term growth in the small car segment," he said, adding that the company has to put in efforts in expanding sales of small cars.
Their global partnership with Toyota will help them get their hands on innovative EV technologies. "Toyota doesn't expect us to use their technology as it is. We will learn it from them and use it as per SMC's requirement like building small EV cars," he added.
Just like the Kei car, which is well-suited for the Japanese market, similarly the carmaker said it wi explore a suitable product for the local market. "We need to build the most convenient product for the Indian market to use that would entail the development of an exclusive EV model," he said.
India will soon be positioned as the no. 1 car manufacturer. "We would like to capture this opportunity," he added.
He warned that because of global uncertainties, next year the company is expected to go through a difficult phase of growth.
Going forward, he added, SMC and Maruti Suzuki India will not only depend on EVs but a host of solutions like ethanol, flex fuel, hydrogen, etc. The target for SMC, he added, is to achieve its market share back to 50 per cent.
Also read: Auto Expo 2023: Maruti Suzuki unveils its first EV; plans to launch the EVX by 2025
Also read: Auto Expo 2023: Kia plans to invest Rs 2,000 cr on R&D in EV, to launch India-made EV in 2025