As soon as the bedrock of India’s passenger car market, small automobiles at the moment are quickly slipping into the shadows. Maruti Suzuki India, the nation’s largest carmaker, has raised the alarm over this sustained decline, calling for presidency incentives to rekindle curiosity within the section that when drove India’s automotive increase.
Entry-level automobiles priced under ₹5 lakh have seen a steep fall in gross sales — from 9,34,538 items in FY16 to only 25,402 items in FY25. Even Maruti Suzuki, traditionally dominant on this section, recorded a drop in gross sales of its Alto and S-Presso fashions to six,776 items in Might 2025 from 9,902 items a yr earlier. Compact fashions like Baleno, Celerio, Dzire, Ignis, Swift, and WagonR additionally registered a decline, promoting 61,502 items versus 68,206 in Might 2024.
Partho Banerjee, Senior Government Officer (Advertising & Gross sales) at Maruti Suzuki India, attributed the downturn to rising regulatory prices. “So someplace the federal government has to grasp that in the event that they need to gasoline the expansion of the auto trade, they should perceive the place the issue is and the way to enhance the dimensions of the pie (small automotive gross sales),” he stated. He added, “Some incentives are required in order that the shopper who isn’t in a position to afford the automotive can are available in and might migrate to a four-wheeler from a two-wheeler.”
Small automobiles made up 47.4% of the full passenger car (PV) market in FY18, barely dipped to 46% in FY19, and peaked at 46.5% in FY20. Since then, the share has persistently declined — 45.6% in FY21, 37.5% in FY22, 34.4% in FY23, and 27.7% in FY24.
On different fronts, the carmaker famous that it has not skilled any fast affect from China’s new export controls on uncommon earth magnets. Rahul Bharti, Senior Government Officer (Company Affairs), stated the trade is working with the federal government on required end-user certificates. “In order that course of is on and trade is in dialogue with the federal government,” he acknowledged.
China controls over 90% of world processing capability for these magnets, important to sectors like cars, home equipment, and clear vitality.
On exports, Maruti Suzuki is concentrating on a 20% enhance this fiscal yr, aiming to promote 4 lakh items in comparison with final yr’s 3,32,585 items. “Our goal for this yr (FY26) is at the very least 4 lakh items, which means a development of at the very least 20 per cent over FY25,” stated Bharti. He highlighted that their exports span practically 100 international locations with robust demand from Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and now Japan, which has shortly grow to be the corporate’s second-largest export vacation spot because of the Fronx and Jimny fashions.
“We do assume that our market share in exports will develop this yr. We’re already at 43 per cent and the golden mark of fifty per cent is shut,” Bharti added.
In FY25, Fronx, Jimny, Baleno, Swift, and Dzire led Maruti Suzuki’s exports, with South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Chile, Japan, and Mexico amongst its high locations.
(With inputs from PTI)
