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Informist, Tuesday, Apr. 28, 2026

 

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--Maruti Suzuki: Revived demand for cars to drive industry growth going fwd 
--CONTEXT: Maruti Suzuki mgmt's comments in post-earnings press briefing 
--Maruti Suzuki: India car demand so far hasn't been hit by West Asia war 
--Maruti Suzuki: Will incur INR 140 bln capex in FY27 as we add mfg units 
--Maruti Suzuki: Producing at full capacity, not too concerned about mkt shr 
--Maruti Suzuki: Planning small cars, SUVs, there is market for both 
--Maruti Suzuki: Haven't decided on price hikes despite input cost pressure 
--Maruti Suzuki: Will see more small car sales as new capacities are added 
--Maruti Suzuki: Expect pressure on commodities to sustain till war lasts 

 

MUMBAI – Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. is not concerned about its falling market share in passenger vehicles category as the company is utilising its production capacity fully and is making reasonable profits, the company's Chairman R.C. Bhargava told reporters in a post-earnings media briefing Tuesday. Maruti Suzuki is currently adding production capacity at a very high rate, and in order to corner more market share, the company will have to install newer capacities at an even faster rate, Bhargava said.

 

"...it's more important for a company to make sure that whatever manufacturing capacity it has installed, it is able to use that capacity to full 100% and sell those cars at a reasonable profit," Bhargava said. During 2026-27 (Apr-Mar), the company will have an additional capacity of 250,000 cars from Kharkhoda, Haryana. The company plans to invest INR 140 billion during FY27 for setting up additional manufacturing capacities, including a new plant in Gujarat. 

   

On the impact of the West Asia war on domestic demand, Bhargava said it has had minimal effect on the car market in India, in terms of demand as well as production. "There's nothing very much adverse happening, there is an issue of higher prices," Bhargava said. He said the pressure on commodity prices is expected to sustain until the war lasts.

 

Asked whether Maruti Suzuki will keep absorbing the impact of higher input costs, Bhargava said the company has not taken "any firm decision" on prices and it should "wait and see". "But it's not right to announce it in advance that, on this date I'm increasing the price, then nobody will buy till then," Bhargava said. Its peers, including Hyundai Motor India Ltd., Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd., and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. have recently announced price hikes up to 2.5% in order to combat cost escalations. 

 

Bhargava sees growth in the car industry to sustain in the next few years as "demand" has once again revived, especially after the government cut the goods and services tax last year. Maruti Suzuki produced a record high 2.35 million automobiles in FY26, up 12% on year. The growth in sales during the previous financial year was concentrated towards Oct-Mar on the back of a surge in demand for cars induced by lower GST. Small cars now attract a GST of 18%, down from 28%, and an additional compensation cess of 1-2?fore September. 

 

Further, the company plans to develop both small cars and sport utility vehicles as there is a market in India for both the segments. On small cars, Bhargava said they have a "long-term future" as the larger part of India does not have the ability to purchase bigger vehicles. "The large part of the population in India, if they have to have decent mobility, have to have low-cost small cars," Bhargava said. "India is not a rich country where everybody has a per capita income of $40,000, and everybody can buy big cars. It's not happening, not in a long time." With new capacities being added, the sales of small cars are bound to increase this year, the company said.

 

The company currently has got close to 130,000 pending bookings and the traction for small cars has been very good, Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer, marketing and sales at Maruti Suzuki, said. The company currently has a huge waiting list for utility vehicles as well as hatchbacks, Banerjee said. 

 

For the March quarter, Maruti Suzuki reported a net profit of INR 35.91 billion, with the metric contracting for the first time in FY26. The company earned around INR 501 billion from sales of its products during the quarter, up 29% on year. The company's shares ended 2.5% lower at INR 12,892 on Tuesday, as its earnings failed to meet the Street's expectations.  End

 

US$1 = INR 94.54

 

Reported by Gopika Balasubramanium and Anand JC

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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