Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), the largest automaker in India, on Wednesday reported a year on year 47 percent decline in total sales at 83,792 units in the month of March, because of the spread of coronavirus.
The company had sold 158,076 units in March in 2019, the automaker said in a regulatory filing.
The automaker said, “The sales during March 2020 are not comparable with sales in March 2019 because of the suspension of operations with effect from March 22, 2020, in line with national policy.”
Domestic sales also declined by 47.6 percent at 76,976 units in March 2020, as against 147,613 units in the same month 2019, it added.
Sales of mini segment consisting of Alto and S-Presso stood at 15,988 units, dropped 5 percent, as compared to 16,826 units in March 2019.
On the other hand, the sales of compact segments, including models like Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire took a huge hit, witnessed a drop of 50.9 percent at 40,519 units as against 82,532 cars in March last year. The automaker sold 1,863 units units of mid-sized sedan Ciaz compared to 3,672 units dispatched same month in 2019.
Sales of utility vehicles, including Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and Ertiga, dropped 53.4 percent at 11,904 units as compared to 25,563 in the year-ago month, MSI stated.
Exports in March declined 55 percent at 4,712 units as against 10,463 units in the corresponding month last year, the automaker noted.
About 2,322 people in India have been confirmed as being infected with the coronavirus. The virus has killed 62 people in the country.
