Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Monday, May 03, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, May 03, 2004 |
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Exports & Imports Corporate - Performance Suzuki Alto drives Maruti's exports to new high S. Muralidhar
THE diminutive, and till recently not so popular (in the domestic market), Suzuki Alto has spearheaded Maruti Udyog's (MUL) export performance during 2003-04. Maruti clocked record exports of over 50,000 vehicles in the financial year, of which the Alto alone constituted about 36,444 units. During fiscal 2003-04, Maruti's exports recorded a growth of 59 per cent over the previous year. This has been mainly because of the success of the Alto in the European market, where 34,399 units were sold. Maruti has recorded a substantial growth in Algeria, Belgium, Bhutan, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the UK. For the first time, Maruti cars have also entered the Gulf market with launches in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, where the New Alto specially designed for this region was rolled out. Interestingly, Maruti's sales in the UK market, which is fast becoming fiercely competitive with products such as the Fiat Panda, Fiat Idea, Rover City, Nissan Micra and the Renault Clio in the same segment, has increased five-fold during the 12 months ended March 2004 because of the success of the New Alto. Similarly, sales in Sri Lanka grew three times and in Chile, sales doubled during 2003-04 compared to 2002-03 sales.MUL had announced the highest annual export sales when for the first time, it crossed the 50,000 mark in 2003-04 at 51,175 units. The current Suzuki Alto was first unveiled for the European market at the 2002 Geneva Auto Show and has steadily seen an increase in demand in markets such as the UK, Germany, Denmark and Belgium. Before the new Alto hit the streets in these markets, the two-door version of the domestic Zen used be called the European Alto. The Maruti Alto which has been a laggard in the domestic market till 2002-03 has rebounded and posted a 135 growth in 2003-04 with sales of 60,279 units.
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