Maruti Suzuki posts 2% drop in November wholesales

India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) recorded a 2% year-on-year (YoY) drop in its total wholesales in November, the company said in a statement on Sunday.

MSIL’s total sales, including exports, stood at 150,630 units last month as against 153,539 units in the year-ago period. The company’s total domestic sales declined 1.6% YoY to 143,686 units and exports fell 7.7% to 6,944 units.

The carmaker, which had sold 144,277 units in India in October, continues to battle a demand slowdown post festival season and is tightly checking its inventory build up, especially of newly launched models, including S-Presso, XL6 and new WagonR.

Maruti’s mini and compact car segment have posted a 2% YoY growth of 104,319 units last month. The compact car category has driven growth in this category with the sub-segment posting wholesales of 78,013 units for November, up 7.6% YoY. Analysts said it could mean the carmaker continues to see strong bookings of models such as Swift, new WagonR and the Baleno premium hatchback.

Meanwhile, the mini sub-segment, where Maruti sells its entry-level Alto models and the newly launched S-Presso, clocked sales at 26,306 units, down 12.2% YoY. Even as the company said the S-Presso is seeing average bookings in the range of 700-800 units per day, Maruti dealers suggest that the carmaker has grown cautious over last months on monthly billings and stock building.

After reporting a growth of 11% in October, Maruti’s portfolio of utility vehicles posted wholesales of 23,204 units, down 1.3% YoY on tight inventory control. The company sells models such as Ertiga, XL6, Brezza and S-Cross as UVs.

However, Maruti’s light commercial vehicle (LCV), Super Carry, continues to post stable growth each month. The company sold 2,267 units of its LCV last month, up 6.5% YoY.