Maruti Maintains Market Position Amid Slippage in Market Share

Maruti Suzuki Undeterred by Market Share Erosion

New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki, India's largest carmaker, is not concerned about its market share erosion, despite a decline from 40.9% in FY25 to 39.2% in FY26, according to data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam). The company's chairman, R.C. Bhargava, emphasized that the carmaker's focus is on utilizing its full manufacturing capacity and selling cars at a reasonable profit.

In the January-March quarter, Maruti Suzuki sold 2.4 million cars, an 8% year-on-year increase. Domestic sales rose 4% to 1.97 million units, while exports climbed 35% to nearly 450,000 units. However, the company's production capacity, which stands at 2.6 million units spread across four plants, was operating at near-full utilization in FY26.

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Maruti's growth is now largely determined by its ability to add capacity and operate at 100% utilization. The company is preparing to add 0.5 million units of production capacity, spread equally across its Kharkhoda and Hansalpur plants, in the current financial year.

Bhargava's comments follow strong revenue growth for the company, with consolidated FY26 revenues climbing 20% to ₹1.83 trillion, and Q4 revenues rising 25% to ₹52,946 crore. However, rising commodity and employee costs hit the company's profitability, with net profit growing at a flat 1% to ₹14,679 crore in FY26, and falling 6% year-on-year to ₹3,659 crore in Q4.

Analysts suggested that the company's results were in line with expectations, with minimal margin impact in the quarter. However, investors were not impressed, with the company's stock tumbling 2.5% on the NSE against a 1% decline in Nifty Auto.

Bhargava also noted that the government has realized the importance of small cars and the segment is likely to make a comeback now even as new regulations like corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFE) III come into effect. The company has a backlog of nearly 200,000 orders, with 130,000 pending orders for small cars belonging to the 18% GST slab.

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