Maruti Suzuki posts 11.7% sales growth for September

Shares in Maruti Suzuki India rose 3 per cent in morning trade today after reporting an 11.7 per cent year-on-year increase in total sales in September at 104,964 units as against 93,988 units in the same month last year.

The country's largest car-maker said in a statement on Monday that its domestic sales increased by 1.8 per cent during the month to 90,399 units as against 88,801 units in September last year.

Exports during the month surged nearly three-fold to 14,565 units as compared to 5,185 units in the same month last year, Maruti Suzuki said.

The company said sales of its popular compact sedan Dzire surged 43 per cent during the month at 16,708 units as against 11,694 units in September 2012. The company's mid-sized sedan SX4 also registered a growth of 31 per cent to 378 units as against 288 units in the same month last year.

Sales of mini segment cars, including M800, Alto, A-Star and WagonR, increased by 4.9 per cent to 41,061 units, as compared to 39,150 units in the year-ago month. Sales in the compact segment comprising Swift, Estilo, and Ritz rose by 16.9 per cent to 20,828 units in September this year as against 17,813 units last year.

Sales of utility vehicles, including the Gypsy, Grand Vitara and Ertiga, stood at 2,657 units in September this year, down 63.2 per cent from 7,224 units in the corresponding month last year.

Sales of vans - the Omni and the Eeco - declined by 30.5 per cent to 8,767 units in September this year as compared to 12,620 units in the same period of previous year.