These 2 Cars Helped Maruti Sales Bounce Back To Pre-COVID Levels

After being battered by COVID-19, a marginal increase in year-on-year sales bodes well for Maruti and the auto industry overall. But will the carmaker be able to sustain the momentum?

The auto industry is among the many that has been seriously affected by the global pandemic and the lockdown. There was also the record-low of zero sales for the month of April. Three months on and Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest passenger vehicle manufacturer, has seen a massive recovery in its monthly sales figures. In fact, it recorded a positive figure for its year-on-year domestic sales for July 2020.

Since July 2019, Maruti has had a few launches like the S-Presso, XL6 and more recently the facelifted Vitara Brezza that was introduced not long before the lockdown. Model-wise figures reveal that the demand for Alto, Baleno and Ignis has gone up over last year while the facelifted Vitara Brezza has also witnessed a nearly 50 percent increase in sales. The addition of the S-Presso and the XL6 to the lineup in the second half of 2019 has also contributed to the 2020 recovery. In terms of total domestic passenger vehicle sales, Maruti has actually seen a year-on-year growth of 1.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, models like the WagonR, Swift, Dzire and Ciaz are also catching up to last year's figures. In terms of month-on-month growth, all models are seeing a huge resurgence while the demand for Ertiga, Swift and Baleno has gone up by at least 150 percent. The S-Cross is also expected to see its numbers grow with the launch of the BS6 petrol version of the SUV scheduled for August 5.

In fact, the signs of revival were strong since June 2020 with Maruti recording a 274 percent increase in passenger vehicle sales over May 2020. That was the rebound just two months after zero sales in April and with social distancing norms and personnel restrictions that reduced total output capacity. In July too, the carmaker recorded an impressive 91 percent month-on-month growth in demand, nearing the usual figure of 1 lakh sales a month.

The incredible rebound being experienced by carmakers like Maruti in the space of the last three months is a positive sign for the entire automotive industry. As restrictions continue to get rolled back and carmakers expand their digital sales avenues, the industry could witness a steady recovery for the rest of the year. Of course, there is also reasonable doubt whether such sales can be sustained as the July 2020 period might be a bit of a balloon phase due to the lockdown circumstances. With the Indian festive season around the corner, Maruti and fellow carmakers should be able to sustain some of the current sales growth before dipping down to regular sales figures as seen pre-COVID.