Small Cars

If you look at the sales numbers of various models, they tell an interesting story

India has the potential to become the number one automotive market in the world and small cars have an important role to play in it, Suzuki Motor Corporation Representative Director and President Toshihiro Suzuki said on Wednesday. In an interaction with reporters on the sidelines of Auto Expo 2023 here, he also said electric vehicles alone will not be the solution to India's quest for carbon neutrality and the company will explore other technologies such as flex fuels, hybrids and CNG. Besides, Suzuki said while safety issues have become important for automobiles, there is a need to strictly follow the basic traffic rules and also developing adequate infrastructure to ensure road safety. "I can see that there can be a time when India would be positioned as number one market (of automobiles) in the world. Maruti Suzuki and Suzuki as a group, we would like to capture this opportunity. We would like to develop technology for providing the right mobility solutions to this market," he .

Maruti Suzuki India expects the small car segment to grow in volume terms despite a decreasing share in the overall domestic passenger vehicles market, according to a senior company official. While affordability is a major concern that has impacted growth of the small-car segment, the company is betting on first-time buyers and more customers from rural as well as suburban areas -- tier II and III towns. "We believe absolute volume (of small cars) will increase but as a percentage of the total volume (of passenger vehicles), which is 38 per cent at the moment, this may show a decrease, but in absolute volume terms, it will increase," Maruti Suzuki India Ltd Senior Executive Director (Marketing & Sales) Shashank Srivastava told PTI. The hatchback market used to fluctuate between 45-46 per cent of the total passenger vehicles market for the last five years and last year it dipped to about 38 per cent and SUVs with 40 per cent of the overall market became the largest selling segment,

New Delhi Television (NDTV) can prevent a takeover by the group if it can buy more shares from public shareholders, corporate lawyers told Business Standard

Maruti Suzuki's Alto is among the most selling cars in the nation as the automaker has sold over 4 million units in India to date

The auto major noted that the regulation would largely impact the cost-sensitive entry-level car segment -- which has been facing headwinds and witnessing dwindling sales over the last three years

Union minister Nitin Gadkari wondered why auto makers are providing eight airbags only in big cars bought by rich people.

India is a market for low-priced cars with low running costs. The global majors don't have models that fit the bill; only Maruti and Hyundai have successful entry-level models, writes T N Ninan

A smaller SUV and a sub-four-metre car are in the works

But SUV makers remain unfazed by down-trading trend

After losing out to utility vehicles for years, small car sales are set to hit a four-year high in January

Combined sales of models in the overall mini and micro segment dropped 3 per cent to 573,000, down 3 per cent over a year ago, according to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers

Maruti , Hyundai will make the largest gain as both have a large portfolio of products in the below-4 metre segment