Maurti sells 34,543 units in Sept

Chennai: Maruti Udyog, India's leading car manufacturer, has sold 34,543 units (including 1,992 units exported) in September 2003. This is higher by 958 units compared to what the company had sold in September 2002.

Maruti could have shown higher exports last month but for the strike at its vendor unit, DCM Engineering, supplying a crucial engine-component. In September 2002, the company exported 2, 948 cars and this year the figure has come down by 956 units. Maruti officials say the overall impact of the strike on its production was reduced during the month.

"Working with experts from Suzuki Motor Corporation, we were able to increase the manufacturing capability of our alternative suppliers and source higher quantities of the engine component from them. We expect the improvement to continue," says a company spokesperson.

Except for the entry-level Maruti 800 model, whose sales came down by 354 to 13,524 during the period under review, all other models showed increased sales. Sales volumes in the domestic A2 segment grew by 11 per cent.

Maruti Udyog had reduced the prices of its Alto and WagonR models last month — in the A3 segment by 33 per cent and in the C segment by 16 per cent compared to the sales in September 2002. Cumulatively, the company sold 2,12,468 cars between April-September 2003, showing an increase of 31 per cent over the comparable period last fiscal.