So far, the 2018 fiscal year seems to have turned out quite beneficial for the country's largest carmaker - Maruti Suzuki India. Apart from registering double-digit growth in both April and May 2017 sales, and successfully launching the new-gen Dzire, the Indo-Japanese carmaker has now also surpassed, Mahindra and Mahindra as India's largest Utility Vehicle manufacturer for the second consecutive month in a row. In April 2017 Maruti Suzuki's utility vehicle sales accounted for 20,638 units in April 2017 and 22,608 in May 2017, compared to the 18,363 units and 19,331 units sold by Mahindra and Mahindra in the respective months.
Judging by these numbers, Maruti Suzuki has a collective lead of 5,552 units over Mahindra in the last two months and two of the major contributors that have enabled the carmaker to achieve this lead are - the Vitara Brezza subcompact SUV and the Ertiga MPV. The Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, in particular, has been the major volume generator for the company in this segment. Last month the carmaker sold 12,375 units of the Vitara Brezza, a personal best for the car, and 10,653 units the month before that. This alone tells us that about 60 per cent of the company's UV sales come from the Vitara Brezza. The remaining numbers came from the Ertiga (13,863), S-Cross (4,925), and the Gypsy 4x4 (1,430).
Mahindra's leading player, on the other hand, has been the Bolero for over a decade. The company collectively sold 6,832 units of the regular Bolero and the Bolero Plus subcompact SUV in May and 6,358 units in April. Interestingly, Mahindra has three sub 4-metre SUVs in its kitty to rival the Maruti Vitara Brezza - the Mahindra Bolero Plus, TUV300 and NuvoSport - but even their collective sales haven't been as high as the Vitara Brezza in the last two months. Having said that, when you take the calendar year into the account, Mahindra still takes the lead over Maruti Suzuki by over 5000 units.
Maruti Suzuki India already has the top spot in the passenger car segment and also enjoys the leadership position in the entry-level hatchback, the compact hatchback, subcompact sedan, and the compact sedan segments. While the company's top spot in the UV segment is not guaranteed to last forever, considering the limited UVs in its line-up, but the recent success sure is commendable.
