Business
Maruti says first-time buyers are 54% of sales
The Economic Times··4d ago
Maruti Suzuki said first-time buyers were 54% of April-August sales, up from 42% a year earlier after GST 2.0. Rahul Bharti said industry sales grew 28% in April-August versus a 0.4% fall in the first half of FY26, while Maruti grew 36%. Alto and S-Presso sales rose 96% to 67,334 units in April-August, Bharti said.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Vehicles in the 18% GST bracket rose 29% to 1.24 million units in April-August, including Alto, WagonR, Punch and Bolero.
- Tata's Amit Kamat said the Nexon and Punch grew 60% after the GST cut and rank among India's top three sellers.
- Mahindra's Nalinikanth Gollagunta cited stronger first-time interest in Bolero Neo and XUV 3XO entry SUVs.
What's Happening
- Passenger vehicles in the 40% tax bracket such as Hyundai Creta and Kia Carens grew about 21% in April-August.
- Hatchbacks including Swift, Baleno and WagonR returned to top-selling lists while SUVs still outpaced overall growth.
- Mahindra entry utility wholesales reached 106,699 units in April-August, up 19.8% year on year.
SUV demand after tax changes
- Bharti said GST 2.0 broadened the market base and gave fresh momentum toward mass motorisation.
- Maruti's mini-car surge came off a low base but signals renewed entry-level demand.
- Industry data showed SUVs expanding share even as compact models revived post tax relief.
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