Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd is sitting on an order backlog of about 1.5 lakh units for just three models alone -- Baleno, Vitara Brezza and new Dzire.

The three models continue to witness strong demand and the waiting period stands at 16 weeks for Baleno and new Dzire and 22 weeks for Brezza, the company management told the investors’ conference call.

While the demand for some of the existing models is robust, Maruti is also gearing up roll out a few new models during this fiscal. A new variant of S-Cross, a new Swift and a petrol version of Brezza are expected. It has already launched Baleno RS and a new Dzire.

At a time new model launches have dried up in the PV market, Maruti’s proposed introduction of new models will help it sustain the growth momentum and defend market share.

Market share

During Q1 of this fiscal, Maruti’s market share in the PV segment increased to 50.5 per cent when compared with 46.2 per cent in the year ago quarter. With robust volumes for Brezza, Maruti has achieved leadership position in utility vehicle market too.

Maruti’s Gujarat factory produced about 24,000 units during Q1 of this fiscal and it is expected to reach full capacity operation by the end of this fiscal. The production ramp up will ease company’s capacity constraints and may help drive higher sales of its popular models like Baleno and Vitara Brezza.

The company expects to add second production line at Gujarat and that is expected to be ready by early 2019.

During Q1, its Nexa outlets contributed 20 per cent to the total domestic sales. Share of first time buyers was 50 per cent of domestic sales in the first quarter when compared with about 44 per cent in Q4 of previous fiscal.

GST impact

On the impact of GST, the management said there was a slowdown in retail sales during first ten days of July. However, the demand has picked up now.

The company expects stronger volume growth in Q2 of this fiscal due to festive season and uptick in rural growth.

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