Carmaker Maruti posts 10 % sales growth in June

Friday, 02 July 2004, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: Maruti Udyog Ltd., India's largest carmaker, said Thursday the company's vehicle sales grew by 10 percent in June over the same month last year as a growing economy boosted consumer spending. Maruti, a unit of Japanese automobile giant Suzuki Motor Corp, sold 39,574 vehicles in June, including 3,159 units meant for exports, said a company statement. The carmaker sold 36,038 vehicles in June 2003. Maruti cumulative sales in the first quarter of the current fiscal that started in April expanded by 19 percent over the corresponding period of the fiscal 2003-04 to 123,624. The company said sales of its popular compact car Maruti 800 fell for the second consecutive month to 10,761 units in June, a loss of 18 percent from the corresponding period last year. Maruti sold 472,122 units in the fiscal 2003-04, the highest ever since the company began operations 20 years ago. Suzuki Motor took management control of Maruti, which makes 10 car models in India including the popular Maruti 800 compact, from the Indian government in May 2002 as part of the latter's privatisation programme. Automobile sales in the domestic market have witnessed rapid growth in the last few months as buyers rushed to take advantage of sharply lower loan interest rates in a booming economy. India's gross domestic product expanded by a dazzling 8.2 percent in the fiscal year 2003-04 on the back of sharply higher agriculture output.
Source: IANS
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