Responding to declining demand for mini and compact cars in India, market leader Maruti Suzuki has announced a significant price reduction for its ‘Dream Series’ models. For the month of June 2024, the prices of Alto K10, S-Presso, and Celerio have been slashed to ₹4.99 lakh, down from their current average prices of ₹6-7 lakh.
“We’ve seen good traction in the premium hatchback segment, with a 43% contribution in May. In June, we aim to focus on the small entry car segment by launching the ‘Dream Series’ edition, based on customer feedback. This initiative is valid for the month of June for now,” said Partho Banerjee, Sales and Marketing Head at Maruti Suzuki India Limited.
Additionally, Maruti Suzuki has announced a price reduction for various models in its Auto Gear Shift (AGS) lineup, including the Alto K10, S-Presso, Celerio, Wagon-R, Swift, Dzire, Baleno, Fronx, and Ignis. This move is aimed at making AGS variants more affordable. “We’ve also rationalized prices for automatic variants in the small entry car segment. While AGS penetration in NEXA models was 20%, it was only 10% in ARENA models,” Banerjee added.
These initiatives come as Maruti Suzuki seeks to rejuvenate the hatchback segment, which has seen a significant decline in sales. Entry-level hatchback volumes fell to 1.6 lakh units in 2023-24, down from a peak of 4.5 lakh units seven years ago. In May 2024, sales for models like S-Presso, Baleno, Celerio, Ignis, and the newly launched Swift totaled 78,108 units, compared to 83,655 units in May 2023. Maruti Suzuki’s total domestic sales for the month stood at 146,694 units, reflecting a growth of just 0.1% from 146,596 units in May 2023.
The overall industry saw an increase of 4.4%, with total sales reaching 350,257 units in May 2024, up from 335,436 units in the same period last year. Maruti Suzuki sold close to 132,000 AGS models last year and is expecting a growth of 15-20% this financial year with the new price rationalization. “We want more and more customers at the entry level to upgrade to automatic variants,” Banerjee said.
