Maruti Suzuki's production rises 7.8% in December

Maruti Suzuki, the biggest carmaker in India, reported a 7.88 per cent increase in its production during December. The company produced 115,949 units last month, in comparison to 107,478 units produced during December 2018, it said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

The slight increase in production figures during December 2019 came on the back of rise in compact and utility vehicles sub-segments. Maruti had slashed production eight times in the current fiscal year owing to ongoing slowdown in the auto sector and tepid demand, even during the festive season.

In the mini sub-segment, Maruti Suzuki produced 25,613 units during December 2019, as opposed to 28,314 units reported in the corresponding month last year. The category includes Alto, S-Presso and old WagonR. Alto toppled Dzire to regain the spot of best-selling car in 2019. Meanwhile, S-Presso has been a market favourite since its launch in September 2019.

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The compact sub-segment saw production figures rise to 62,448 units in December 2019, as against 44,329 units in December 2018. This segment includes models like the new WagonR, Celerio, Ignis, Swift, Dzire and Baleno. In total, the mini and compact sub-segments posted production figures of 88,061 as opposed to 72,643 units.

Production of Ciaz, the sole mid-size sedan by Maruti Suzuki, almost halved to 894 units in December 2019, from 1,516 units in December 2018. Utility vehicles like Gypsy, Vitara Brezza, Ertiga, XL-6 and S-Cross saw production figures increase to 19,825 units in December 2019 from 16,436 units in December 2018. Production of Maruti Suzuki vans - Omni and Eeco - nosedived to 6,182 units in December 2019 from 16,338 units reported in the year-ago period.

Maruti Suzuki produced 114,962 passenger vehicles in December 2019, as compared to 106,933 units in the corresponding month of pervious year. Of its light commercial vehicle Super Carry, Maruti Suzuki produced 987 units in December 2019, up from 545 units in December 2018.

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