Maruti, ORIX Auto join to unveil subscription model in Pune, Hyderabad

 The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Tuesday said it has launched vehicle subscription programme for individual customers in Hyderabad and Pune in partnership with ORIX Auto Infrastructure Services.

Under this initiative with ORIX Auto Infrastructure Services India, a subsidiary of Japan's ORIX Corporation, Maruti Suzuki Subscribe allows a customer to use a brand new car without actually owning it by paying an all-inclusive monthly fee that covers maintenance and insurance for the complete tenure, MSI said in a statement.

The auto major has already launched the initiative in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru.

The company's subscription programme offers the customers a wide range of new cars - Swift, Dzire, Vitara Brezza and Ertiga from Arena dealerships and Baleno, Ciaz and XL6 from Nexa outlets, MSI said.

Maruti Suzuki Subscribe comes with features including flexible tenure, zero down payment, registration and insurance, and complete maintenance, MSI Executive Director (Marketing and Sales) Shashank Srivastava said.

The company is overwhelmed with customer response in the first few weeks of pilot launch and received over 5,000 enquiries, he added.

"Progressively, we aim to offer Maruti Suzuki Subscribe in 40-60 cities in the next 2-3 years," Srivastava noted.

Maruti Suzuki Subscribe with private registration in the name of the subscriber comes with subscription tenure options of 24, 36 and 48 months, as per customer's choice.

Customers need to pay a monthly subscription charge as low as starting Rs 15,479 (including taxes) for Swift Lxi in Hyderabad and Rs 15,354 (including taxes) in Pune for a tenure of 48 months, the auto major said.

After the completion of subscription tenure, the customer can also opt to upgrade vehicle, extend, or buy the car at market price, it added.

Subscription is clearly emerging as a great new channel for customers to drive their preferred Maruti Suzuki vehicles. ORIX India and Maruti Suzuki have been working closely on this initiative over the last couple of months and we have witnessed an increased level of excitement and traction in the cities we have launched in the last 2-3 months," ORIX India MD and CEO Sandeep Gambhir said.

Coronavirus: Maruti Suzuki extends service, warranty to support customers

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Monday said it has extended warranty and service timelines of customer vehicles in wake of coronavirus pandemic.

"For customer vehicles, whose free service, warranty and extended warranty are scheduled to end in the period from March 15, 2020 to April 30, 2020 are now being extended up to June 30, 2020," MSI said in a statement.

 

ALSO READ: Fighting coronavirus: L&T donates Rs 150 cr, TVS 25 Motor cr to PM-CARES

Shares of the company were trading at Rs 4,453 apiece, 4.15 per cent lower than their previous close on BSE.

Maruti raises production by 4% in Nov after 9 straight months of output cut

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) increased its production in November by 4.33 per cent, after having reduced output for nine straight months due to lower demand.

The company produced a total of 1,41,834 units in November as against 1,35,946 units in the year-ago month, MSI said in a regulatory filing.

Passenger vehicles' production last month stood at 1,39,084 units as against 1,34,149 units in November 2018, an increase of 3.67 per cent, it added.

Production of mini and compact segment cars, including Alto, new WagonR, Celerio, Ignis, Swift, Baleno and Dzire stood at 24,052 units as against 30,129 units in November last year, down 20.16 per cent.

Production of utility vehicles such as Vitara Brezza, Ertiga and S-Cross, however, increased by 18 per cent to 27,187 units as compared to 23,038 units a year ago.

Mid-sized sedan Ciaz saw its output rise to 1,830 units in November from 1,460 units in the same month last year.

Light commercial vehicle Super Carry's production increased to 2,750 units last month from 1,797 units in November 2018, the filing said.

In October, the automaker had cut its production by 20.7 per cent to 1,19,337 units.

Similarly, in September the automaker reduced its production by 17.48 per cent to 1,32,199 u

Maruti Suzuki India sales down 1.9% in November at 150,630 units

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Sunday reported a 1.9 per cent decline in sales at 150,630 units in November.

The company had sold 153,539 units in November last year, MSI said in a statement. Domestic sales declined by 1.6 per cent at 143,686 units last month as against 1,46,018 units in November 2018, it added.

Sales of mini cars comprising Alto and WagonR stood at 26,306 units as compared to 29,954 units in the same month last year, down 12.2 per cent.

Sales of compact segment, including models such as Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire, rose 7.6 per cent at 78,013 units as against 72,533 cars in November last year.

Mid-sized sedan Ciaz sold 1,448 units as compared to 3,838 units earlier. Similarly, sales of utility vehicles, including Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and Ertiga, declined by 1.3 per cent at 23,204 units as compared to 23,512 in the year-ago month, MSI said.

Exports in November were down by 7.7 per cent at 6,944 units as against 7,521 units in the corresponding month last year, the company said.

Maruti Suzuki production slashed 21% in Oct; cut for ninth month in a row

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) reduced its production by 20.7 per cent in October, making it the ninth straight month when the country's largest carmaker lowered its output.

The company produced a total of 1,19,337 units in October as against 1,50,497 units in the year-ago month, MSI said in a regulatory filing.

Passenger vehicles' production last month stood at 1,17,383 units as against 1,48,318 units in October 2018, a decline of 20.85 per cent, it added.

Production of mini and compact segment cars, including Alto, New WagonR, Celerio, Ignis, Swift, Baleno and Dzire stood at 85,064 units as against 1,08,462 units in October last year, down 21.57 per cent.

Production of utility vehicles such as Vitara Brezza, Ertiga and S-Cross however increased marginally to 22,736 units as compared with 22,526 units a year ago.

Mid-sized sedan Ciaz saw its production fall to 1,922 units in October from 3,513 units in the same month last year.

Light commercial vehicle Super Carry's production was also trimmed to 1,954 units last month from 2,179 units in October 2018, the filing said.

In September, the automaker had cut its production by 17.48 per cent to 1,32,199 units.

 

Consumer discounts unsustainable, will go down post October: Maruti Suzuki

Consumer offers on cars during the festive season have reached a peak and it will go down going forward as keeping discounts at such high levels is unsustainable, a senior Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) official has said.

The company, which is offering cash discounts and extended warranties on various models, witnessed its sales jump by 18-20 per cent last month as compared with July and August.

"We clearly tried to revive the market but we cannot have high level of promotions at all the time, these are not sustainable. So, going forward there will be decline in terms of offers," MSI Executive Director, Marketing and Sales Shashank Srivastava told PTI.

The company also expects current month to be better in terms of sales as compared with the same period last year.

"These are probably the green shoots and if we look at first week of October, which was Navratara period, then bookings and retails have been better than last year as far as Navratra period goes," Srivastava said.

Offtake of vehicles, including diesel models and BS-VI compliant eight cars, has been good and driving the sales, he added.

Besides, the recently launched model S-Presso has garnered over 10,000 bookings, Srivastava noted.

The company has already stopped production of BS-IV cars for the models in which BS-VI has been introduced, he added.

For the rest of the models, the decision to cease BS-IV production will be taken keeping in mind the inventory levels, Srivastava said.

He, however, added that it would be too early to say that the auto sector is out of the woods and it would take at least two more months to get a clear picture.

"We have to see that in absence of this stimuli (promotions) whether there is an upturn or not. That I think will be evident in the next few months then we will be able to make more definitive statements about the change in fortunes of auto industry," Srivastava said.

Counting on the positives, he added that the demand from rural markets is set to improve with better monsoon and expectations of a good crop.

Besides, plans to launch petrol versions of Vitara Brezza and S-Cross should give boost to company's sales as there is already a shift from diesel to petrol in all segments of the market, Srivastava said.

He did not elaborate on the exact launch dates of two cars, but said that "it will definitely happen during this fiscal."

Currently, the company offers both the models with 1.3 litre diesel powertrains.

MSI has already stated that it will stop selling models with diesel engines from April 1 next year.

Maruti Suzuki cuts production for eighth straight month in September

Reeling under a prolonged slowdown, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) reduced its production by 17.48 per cent in September, making it the eighth straight month when the country's largest car maker lowered its output.

The company produced a total of 1,32,199 units in September as against 1,60,219 units in the year-ago month, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a regulatory filing.

Passenger vehicles' production last month stood at 1,30,264 units as against 1,57,659 units in September 2018, a decline of 17.37 per cent, it added.

Production of mini and compact segment cars, including Alto, New WagonR, Celerio, Ignis, Swift, Baleno and Dzire stood at 98,337 units as against 1,15,576 units in September last year, down 14.91 per cent.

Similarly, production of utility vehicles such as Vitara Brezza, Ertiga and S-Cross declined 17.05 per cent to 18,435 units as compared with 22,226 units a year ago.

Mid-sized sedan Ciaz saw its production reduced to 2,350 units in September from 4,739 units in the same month last year.

Light commercial vehicle Super Carry's production was also trimmed to 1,935 units last month from 2,560 units in September 2018, the filing said.

In August, the automaker had cut its production by 33.99 per cent at 1,11,370 units.

Tata Motors also reported a 63 per cent drop in production of passenger vehicles in September at 6,976 units as compared to 18,855 units in the same period last year.

All the major automobile makers, including MSI, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Toyota and Honda, have reported double digit decline in domestic passenger vehicle sales in September as onset of the festive season failed to lift the ongoing slump in the auto industry.

Lower demand, protectionist measures abroad may dent value creation: Maruti

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) has said headwinds like softening of demand in the domestic market and protectionist measures abroad may impact its ability to create value in the short term.

The company, which has over 50 per cent market share in the domestic passenger vehicle industry, has been impacted by sluggish offtake and has seen total sales drop 33.5 per cent in July at 1,09,264 units.

"India has already become the fifth largest car market in the world, though car penetration rate remains reasonably low at 3 per cent, with the country's population exceeding 1.3 billion people. With economic growth, the low penetration offers a good growth opportunity to the automobile market and the company," MSI said in its Annual Report for 2018-19.

However, in the short term there are certain headwinds that might affect the company's ability to create value, it informed shareholders of the company.

"These include slowdown in consumption leading to softened demand in domestic market, weakening of Indian economy due to protectionist trade measures adopted recently by various countries, uncertainty in commodity prices and foreign exchange fluctuations," it added.

The company will, however, continue to work on the necessary enablers to tap opportunities in the medium and long term, MSI said.

"These include strengthening its customer-centric culture, expanding sales and service network, increasing manufacturing capacity, investing in new products and technology, augmenting capability and skills of employees and inculcating green manufacturing methods," it added.

Terming the weak demand situation as unfortunate, MSI Chairman R C Bhargava said the company needs to recognise that such downturns do happen from time to time all over the world.

"Such occasions, while posing challenges also provide an opportunity to review what we are doing and to find ways of becoming more efficient and cost-effective," he said in the Annual Report.

Bhargava further said: "My belief is that we are near the bottom of the downward cycle and the economy, and car sales should start to accelerate in the near future. The fiscal year 2021 should again see your company coming back to its usual rate of growth."

With prolonged slowdown, MSI has been forced to take various steps, including production cuts at its manufacturing plants, in order to adjust its inventory to market demand. It had cut vehicle production for the fifth consecutive month in June by 15.6 per cent to 1,11,917 units as compared to 1,32,616 units in the year-ago month.

As per industry sources, the company has also reduced temporary manpower at its facilities and freezed new hiring till the slowdown continues.

A senior leader of the company's workers union, while confirming the developments, said that only temporary workers were impacted and there was no impact on the permanent employees so far.

However, a mail sent to the company regarding the jobs cuts and new hiring freeze remained unanswered.

In its Annual Report, MSI said it is increasing its engagement with customers to address the short-term challenge of weak market demand by pursuing targeted marketing events to generate enquiries and encourage customers to expedite vehicle purchase.

"Hyper-local marketing techniques are being used extensively for customer engagement," it said.