Maruti Suzuki’s most revered models, the Swift and Swift DZire saw a decline in the sales for the first time in years in the month of April. Not only Maruti Suzuki, but the Honda Amaze too saw a decline in sales in the previous month. While the companies may claim wholesale inventory correction and seasonality to be the reason for the drop in sales; it is the Hyundai Xcent and the Grand i10 that have put up a good fight in their respective segments.
The month of April saw the sales of Maruti DZire fall by 17.67 percent to 16,008 units, while the Swift hatchback too saw a drop by 4 percent to 15,874 units. This is the first time Maruti Suzuki has seen a sharp decline in sales of the Swift twins. The company however claims that the retail volumes of the models are up by 8 percent in April, and the drop in figures vary on different factors including short-term stock correction.
Sales of the Honda Amaze declined by 30.85 percent to 3355 units in April; the company however attributed the volume fall due to seasonality. Honda states that it had to adjust production due to two days of shut down on account of elections. Moreover, the rising demand of the City over the Amaze led to readjustment of production. Another major factor affecting Amaze’s sales is that the compact sedan is facing internal competition from the City.
The Hyundai Xcent and the Grand i10 on the other hand started clocking bookings from day one of launch. Well priced and well packed, the South Korean car maker sold more than 82,708 units, averaging 10,340 units per month of the Grand i10 since its launch, while the Xcent continues to contribute to the sales significantly. With the entry of new models in the compact sedan segment planned by other manufacturers as well, it will only get difficult for Maruti Suzuki and Honda to retain their market share in this high volume segment.
