Maruti Suzuki India Limited, the country's largest car manufacturer by sales volume, has announced that its profits surged by two folds during the third quarter (Q3) of ongoing fiscal. Evidently, it is the company's first profit increase in the last 18 months, after a toiling period marred by slow growth, slackening sales, labour strikes and plant shutdowns.
As per reports, the country's favourite passenger car maker saw its net profits zooming to Rs. 5.01 billion during the October to December months of last year, a sharp increase from Rs. 2.05 billion recorded in the same period of 2011. Further, Maruti Suzuki's sales climbed up by 46 per cent and stands at Rs. 109.57 billion.
Reportedly, the unified sales of Maruti Suzuki went up by 27 per cent in Q3 of 2012-13 financial year, as compared with those recorded in the same period of last fiscal. The company's latest entry-level offering- Alto 800 small car is believed to have fuelled the recent sales increase. Pegged as a replacement for the iconic Maruti 800 model, the new Alto was launched during last year's October – November festivities in the country. The Alto 800 then went on to break many records in number of advanced bookings and sales, upon its arrival on Indian turf. Further, Maruti Suzuki's other best selling models, such as utility vehicle Ertiga and entry-level sedan Swift DZire, have also fired up the sales numbers in the domestic passenger car market.
Evidently, Maruti Suzuki has made a tremendous bounce back in the Indian auto market after a toiling July - September period, wherein its internal labour problems led to multi-crore losses. The labour issues led Osamu Suzuki, Chairman and CEO, Suzuki Motor Corp., to come to India for solving issues and ensuring harmony in the premises. Owing to the mishap, the company's Manesar unit operated below its full potential for months, which resulted in both production and export losses.
