In a clear indication that car buyers are shifting gear from entry-level models to compact and super compact cars, India’s largest car manufacturer Maruti has seen sales of its entry-level models drop by nearly 24 per cent in July this year compared to the same month last year.

The country’s penchant for utility vehicles has also been reinforced by the company’s performance in this segment with sales recording a more than 1,000 per cent jump, fuelled by the launch of the Ertiga early this year.

Maruti’s sales in the mini segment (consisting of the M800, Alto, Astar and WagonR models) dropped to 28,998 units in July this year compared to 38,028 in the same month last year, a fall of 23.7 per cent. But sales in the compact car segment (Swift, Estilo and Ritz) spurted up 73.2 per cent at 15,759 units (9099 units).

In the super compact segment where its Dzire model holds sway, there was a near three-fold growth to 11,413 vehicles compared to 3,021 in July last year, a growth of 277.8 per cent. But its mid-size sedan SX4 did poorly -- only 679 units were sold compared to 2,303 units in July 2011, a fall of 70.5 per cent. In the executive segment too, only two units of Kizashi model were sold compared to 32 in July last year, a decline of 93.8 per cent.

Total passenger car sales in July this year at 56,851 units represented an 8.3 per cent increase over the same month last year at 52,483 units.

But in the utility segment, the company witnessed a huge growth. The segment consisting of the Gypsy, Ertiga and Grand Vitara saw phenomenal sales of 7,294 units compared to 642 units last year, a growth of 1,036.1 per cent. Obviously, growth was powered by the Ertiga which was launched in April 2012. Sales of the Omni and Eeco van fell to 6,878 units in July this year from 13,379 units last year.

Both segments put together, the domestic sales in July was 71,024 units compared to 66,504 units in the same month last year, a muted 6.8 per cent growth. But export sales jumped by 27.4 per cent to 11,210 units from 8,796 units last year. Total sales, aided largely by export performance, grew by 9.2 per cent to 82,234 units (75,300 units).

The shift in customer preference to the compact and super compact segments from the mini segment is also reflected in the sales performance during in the first four months of the current fiscal. While sales of mini passenger cars fell by 22.7 per cent, compact car sales grew by 37.1 per cent and super compact sales jumped by 107.6 per cent, while utility vehicle sales, aided by the launch of the Ertiga, witnessed 1,124 per cent growth.

In fact, sales of the compact car segment category in the first four months at 88,745 units is about 30 per cent of last year’s sales of 2.35 lakh units. But sales of the Dzire model during the first four months of this fiscal at 58,371 units is more than 50 per cent of last year’s sale of 1,10,132 units. And its utility vehicle sales this year at 26,259 units is four times that of the last year in this segment at 6,525 units. And no prize for guessing how -- Ertiga!

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