The financial year 2020 was rough for all car manufacturers alike as the vehicle sale has dropped since early March with the country in continued lockdown amid the pandemic crisis. Already in effect economic slowdown and with the rise of vehicle prices because of new safety and emission norms had reduced the overall demand of vehicles.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd which is the country’s market leader in vehicle sales and passenger vehicle manufacturers is partially focusing on used car sales in the rural market predicting the rise of consumer needs for a personalized vehicle. Amid these times consumers would most probably opt for their own vehicles rather than public transport fearing the pandemic crisis.
The company is aggressively pushing the used car sales in the following months because most people are at homes financially cramped because of lesser work and pay or the loss of a job.
Shashank Srivastava who is the executive director of marketing and sales in Maruti Suzuki India quoted that, “In the last ten years growth in rural areas has been more than in urban areas. Sales of Maruti’s vehicles in rural markets have gone up from 7-8% of the total in 2007-08 to 38-39% last fiscal year.” He added that “This has been the trend before COVID-19 and the expectation that this trend will continue is logical and reasonable. The rabbi crops have had a very good yield this year and farm incomes will be higher as a result. The effect of COVID-19 seems to be more in urban businesses than in rural businesses and farms. So that part is also a positive sign for us to invest in the used car business”
The company along with many other brands believes that the rural market will more likely have a faster recovery than urban businesses.
Maruti has also launched an online platform along with its competitors Hyundai, Tata, and Honda for the sale of their newer vehicles to sustain in the market while ensuring safety for their customers and employees with zero contact during car deliveries. The company has also been doing home deliveries of their newer vehicles.
