Maruti Suzuki India is poised to exceed a 50 per cent share of green vehicles in its overall sales this fiscal, driven by strong demand for alternative fuel-powered vehicles.
The top carmaker has seen the share of green vehicles rise continuously for the past couple of years, thanks to the expansion of its model line up.
The share of green vehicles, encompassing CNG, smart hybrids, and intelligent electric hybrid models, in overall sales rose to 47 per cent in FY24 from 37 per cent in FY23 and 27 per cent in FY22, with a significant contribution coming from CNG models.
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The better availability of CNG vehicles, coupled with an increase in CNG infrastructure helped boost demand for CNG vehicles in FY24. The industry’s share of CNG vehicles expanded to about 15 per cent in FY24 from 10.4 per cent in FY23. Hybrid vehicles have also gained traction, with their share increasing to about two per cent, while EV penetration stood at about two per cent, the management said during the company’s Q4 FY24 earnings call.
Maruti’s CNG vehicle sales in FY24 saw a significant increase at 4.8 lakh plus units when compared with 3.28 lakh units in FY23. Ertiga model has been a major driver of its CNG volumes.
The management indicated that it would aim to sell about 6 lakh units of CNG vehicles in FY25. As of March 2024, the company’s total pending order book stood at about 2 lakh units, with CNG models accounting for 1.1 lakh units, a significant portion of which is for the Ertiga variant.
The Management said intelligent electric hybrid technology offered in SUVs such as Grand Vitara and Invicto received excellent responses from consumers. Overall, the customer preference towards green vehicles increased significantly during the year.
In FY24, Maruti Suzuki’s overall sales volume exceeded 2 million units, making it the first among PV manufacturers in India to achieve this milestone. The company also recorded its highest-ever annual exports of 2.83 lakh units.
While SUVs contributed significantly to the growth in the PV market, demand for multipurpose utility vehicles (MUVs) also remained strong. However, the share of the hatchback segment continued to decline in FY24, dropping to 27 per cent from 34 per cent in FY23 (down from a peak of 46 per cent in FY19). This is also reflected in terms of the declining share of first-time buyers in FY24
“Maruti Suzuki remained the top exporter of passenger vehicles in India for the third consecutive year. Despite a nearly 4 per cent decline in exports from the rest of the industry, the company increased its exports by about 10 per cent in FY24,” the management said.
Highlighting sustainability initiatives, the company said it increased captive solar power generation capacity to 43.2 MW in FY24 from 26.3 MW in FY23 and is on course to achieve its target of 48 MW by 24-25.
In FY24, the company achieved a milestone of the highest ever despatches by railways, with about 4.5 lakh vehicles. This increased the penetration of despatches through rail mode in overall despatches to 21.5 per cent in FY24 from 17.6 per cent in FY23.